Arsene Wenger has ended speculation that he could succeed Roy Hodgson as England manager after saying he would never break his contract with Arsenal.
Wenger insisted that he will honour his current contract at the Emirates Stadium, due to expire in 2017, but would consider managing England after that, hinting that next year may spell the end of his 20-year reign at the north London club.
That effectively rules him out of the job this time though. The FA are expected to make an appointment in the coming weeks so that Hodgson's successor will have been installed in time for the World Cup 2018 qualification campaign that begins in September.
Arsene Wenger reveals he would consider managing England https://t.co/GaAmVWMY0U pic.twitter.com/98vCiZKsTT
Wenger, in an interview with beIN Sports, said: "Could I manage England, why not? I would never rule that out, but I am happy and focused in club football.
"England is my second country. I was absolutely on my knees when England went out against Iceland. I couldn't believe it.
"But when you watched the game you could sense, after 60 minutes, that the worst could happen.
"Did they panic or were they tired? I don't know, but England couldn't find an answer to what Iceland posed."
However, Wenger hinted at some uncertainty beyond his current Arsenal deal, with the expectation that the Frenchman will finally stand down after two decades at the club.
"I have one more year to go with Arsenal and I have been with them for a long time. I have always respected all my contacts [throughout my career] and will continue to do that.
"What will I do after that? Honestly, I don't know."
The Guardian has revealed that the FA initially hoped to appoint England U21 manager Gareth Southgate on an interim basis until 2017, when Wenger could assume the helm, but those plans have been scuppered by Southgate ruling himself out of the race. The FA are currently looking at other candidates that include Sam Allardyce and Jurgen Klinsmann.
Under 21 boss Gareth Southgate had the most negative votes - almost 55,000: https://t.co/IoyMovtO0x #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/HEM0UH20fC