This spring I spent a morning in Paris with Arsene Wenger, and got a glimpse of his life. Wenger was staying in a five-star hotel, so over breakfast he inevitably ran into Fabien Barthez, the former France goalkeeper, who just happened to be passing. Soccer people hang out in five-star hotels, and because Wenger has been in the game longer than almost anyone else, he knows everyone.
Wenger greeted Barthez like a long-lost friend. In the glare of TV cameras Wenger usually looks tense, upright and grim, but the couple of times I've experienced him behind the scenes, I've found him a cheery storyteller and mimic.