Arsene Wenger has no regrets over not succeeding Alex Ferguson at Manchester United

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he has no regrets over not succeeding Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager after his planned retirement in 2002.

Former United chairman Martin Edwards revealed in his autobiography last year that he had approached Wenger about taking over from Ferguson after the Scot announced he would be quitting at the end of the 2001/02 season before ultimately changing his mind and staying on at Old Trafford for another 11 years. Edwards met with Wenger on several occasions to discuss the job but cited his loyalty to former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein as his reasoning for staying in North London. Ahead of his final trip to Old Trafford as Arsenal manager on Sunday, Wenger said he had no regrets about his decision to turn down United and added that he turned down many clubs to stay with Arsenal.

"Arsenal is the love of my life. I turned many, many, many clubs down to face the challenge when we built the [Emirates] stadium," said Wenger. "I speak to everybody, yes I met [former United chairman] Martin Edwards, many people came to see me but I was always loyal to this club."

Wenger added that he wants a peaceful ending to his longstanding rivalry with current Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. The two have confronted each other at several points throughout the last 14 years but Wenger insisted that he did not want to engage in any sort of hostilities with Mourinho during Sunday's match. "I respect him a lot, and I don't want to go into individual [comments]," added Wenger. "You should leave me a little bit of peace for my final weeks, and not try to push me into a final confrontation. I want to go peacefully, with Mourinho as well because he's a great manager."