Wenger: I spent My youth selling cigarettes

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
says that he used to smoke on
the bench due to stress and has
revealed that he used to sell
cigarettes at his family pub.
Wenger has previously been
forced to speak on the subject after midfielder Jack
Wilshere was pictured smoking while on holiday and this
week the club fined Wojciech Szczesny €25,500 for lighting
up in the showers following the 2-0 defeat at
Southampton.
A video of the Frenchman smoking in the dugout during
his time with Monaco re-emerged in the wake of
Szczesny's misdemeanour and the Gunners boss has
explained that cigarettes were a big part of his early life.
"I grew up in a pub. You could not see to the window
because of the smoke and I spent my youth selling
cigarettes," he told reporters.
"I have grown up in a period when I had to accomplish
military service. At the end of the month, we got paid by
cigarettes. It incited us to smoke. When I was a young boy
I grew up surrounded by smokers and I smoked myself
when I became a young coach.
"The other day, on French television, they showed me on
the bench smoking a cigarette. I didn't even think it was
me. At that time, I remember Marcelo Lippi at Juventus
smoked a cigar during the whole game in every game."
Wenger was asked if he did so because of stress and
replied: "Yes, of course."
He was also pushed for an answer on whether it is a good
idea for footballers to smoke. "I'm sure there are some top
athletes who smoke," he noted, "but it is not a good
example.
"It depends how much. The best is you don't smoke. It's
an eternal subject whether you are a role model but, at the
end of the day, if you make a good pass on the football
pitch that is what people want to see."
Courtesy: www.goal.com
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