'Arsene Wenger can't let go - he has an addiction,' says former Arsenal captain Tony Adams

Adams has spoken out against his old boss before, claiming the Frenchman 'couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag'

Tony Adams did, however, express his 'delight' at Arsenal's recent FA Cup victory under Arsene Wenger (Getty)

Tony Adams has insisted Arsene Wenger cannot “let go” at Arsenal, arguing that his old manager is suffering from an “addiction”.

This follows the publication of recent extracts from Adams’ autobiography, titled ‘Sober’, in which the former Arsenal captain criticises Wenger for his coaching ability, claiming the Frenchman “couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag”.

Wenger hit back at his former players’ words, insisting he does “not give too much importance to what Tony Adams says”.

But speaking in a recent interview with the Guardian, Adams has once again spoken out against the coach. While the 50-year-old labelled Wenger “one of the greatest managers of all time”, and admitted he still carries “compassion” for him, Adams said his old boss is incapable of letting go.

“Arsenal are not in the Champions League next season. I don’t think they’re going to be anywhere near the title. They’ve just had a fantastic FA Cup win after an amazing 20 years. I hope he calls it a day,” Adams told the Guardian.

“Maybe he thinks they can win the league next year or get back into Europe. I don’t know if he can let go.”

He added: “That’s why I think he’ll hold on to Arsenal. He said: ‘I’ve turned down every club in the world.’ But he would’ve been sacked after a year at Madrid. He would’ve had to go to from club to club.

“But, at Arsenal, he’s got total dominance. The board do nothing. Arsene has a free rein. He’s earning them so much money he can do what he wants. And I don’t think Arsene can let go. It’s an addiction.”

Adams, who led Arsenal to 10 trophies as the club's most successful captain, also criticised Wenger for his “weird relationship” with money, suggesting the manager should take a pay cut in order to increase the wages of Arsenal’s junior coaches.

“He’s also got a weird relationship with money,” he said. “He’s on £8m a year but Arsenal’s junior coaches are on 30 grand. Chelsea’s coaches are on £90,000.

“Take seven million, Arsène, and give them all a rise. It’s not like he’s using the money to throw lavish parties for his friends because he hasn’t got none. He’s only got a few guys in France. I feel a bit sorry for him.”

Despite his criticisms of Wenger, Adams expressed his “delight” at Arsenal’s victory against Chelsea in the FA Cup final which he believes was “the best we’ve played all season”.

Wenger and Adams together after securing the Premiership title (Getty)

“I was delighted for him on Saturday. I’ve never seen him so animated. He was doing a lot of waving after the game. I don’t know what that means. He’s the greatest Arsenal manager ever so it would be sad if that was spoilt.”

Adams also suggested that Wenger was looking to get Arsenal ready for his departure as opposed to leaving the club out in the cold when he finally walks away. “Maybe in the next two years Arsene wants to get the club in position for a smooth transition – because if he suddenly went now Arsenal would be in a bit of a situation.”