Arsene Wenger believes robots influenced by Twitter polls will soon become football managers

Wenger's latter years at Arsenal were tainted by constant criticism from supporters and he now believes they could have a direct impact on managerial decisions in the future

Arsene Wenger has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich or PSG (Getty)

Arsene Wenger believes that robots could eventually become football managers given the increasing influence of social media.

The Arsenal manager of 21 years was on the receiving end of social media-prompted outrage from a section of supporters during the latter years of his reign and grew frustrated at the constant criticism from Arsenal Fan TV, adding that it tarnished both his and the club’s name.

The Frenchman, who expects to be returning to management in 2019, believes it will not be long before decision makers at clubs are directly using fan opinions to influence matches.

“I’ve said many times, you could imagine the next chairman who says that social networks can make a change in the second half,” he told beIN Sports. While he believes he remains part of a group that will steer clear of such a development, he added that taking fan polls into consideration could happen soon.

“That will become more and more entrenched. It will happen. I personally, would not accept it. I’m from the old school in that respect. But we’re going in that direction.

“If you imagine the power of social networks. What is even worse, it’s not the majority, the minority is the most extreme, it’s a bit like the problem with democracy, it’s a dictatorship of the minorities.

“It’s not for me, there’s something I call intuition, I grew up and used my own eyes. You can as well imagine that in 20 years, a robot will sit in front of you.”

Wenger was recently linked with a move to join struggling AC Milan but he said those reports were “fake news”.

“The only thing I can say is, it’s fake news. If I would sign somewhere I would tell you. It’s wrong news.”

The 69-year-old is poised to return to management and is said to be attracting interest from Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, as well as hinting he would be open to offers from national teams and sides in Japan.

“From my 22 years at Arsenal, I have big experience on different levels. There are enquiries from all over the world,” he previously said. “There are associations, national teams, it could be in Japan. I believe that I will start again on January 1st,”