Arsene Wenger to China? Shandong Luneng deny interest in Arsenal boss over 'barbecue' fears

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James Benge1 May 2018

Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng insist they will not look to appoint Arsene Wenger as their manager when he leaves Arsenal at the end of the season.

Wenger will end his 22 year reign in north London later this month but the 68-year-old has insisted it will not represent the end of his managerial career.

It was claimed last week that Wenger had been offered a record-breaking £24million-a-year to make a move to an unnamed club in China, but Shandong insist they will not be looking to replace Li Xiaopeng with the soon-to-be former Arsenal manager.

“We are surprised to learn from our friends online that Mr Wenger will be transferring to our club,” Shandong, currently second in the Super League, wrote on Chinese social networking website Weibo.

“Should we prepare a welcome dinner for him? We're afraid the Professor won't be a fan of our local style barbecue, so we are not inviting him over. We're very comfortable with our own Professor Li.”

A move to Asia would not be an entirely new experience for Wenger, who spent just under two years managing Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight in the mid-1990s.

Were Wenger to make a move to the Chinese Super League he would pit his wits against the likes of former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini and Roger Schmidt, once of Bayer Leverkusen.

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