'I had Pope Francis meeting – it helped lead to Arsenal transfer with Man Utd getting done'

Arsene Wenger's meeting with the lateonce helped complete from . The Pope, who was the of the Roman Catholic Church, on Easter Monday.

The pontiff's official cause of death has yet to be confirmed, but it comes following a five-week hospital stay that saw the Bishop of Rome battling a . It marks the end of his 12 years as the head of the Catholic Church from March 2013 to April 2025.

Pope Francis left a lasting impact with his Vatican reforms, having had a strong stance on social justice and LGTBQ+ rights. And, as a well-known football fan, his widespread influence even extended to Arsenal’s transfer negotiations during Wenger’s tenure.

The legendary manager of the Gunners spent transfer deadline day in September 2014 in Rome, ahead of a long-standing appointment to meet the Pope. Wenger took part in a charity football game in the Italian capital on the most important day for football transfers, all while Arsenal were in negotiations with United to bring Welbeck to the Emirates Stadium.

In fact, the Frenchman found himself negotiating with former chief executive Ivan Gazidis and Welbeck’s agent in the queue to have a photo and a private audience with the Pope. And he made his priorities clear by abruptly hanging up once he had reached the front to meet the Pontiff.

Wenger recalled: "Meeting the Pope was an experience I did not want to miss. I am a Catholic, so it was an experience, and one I accepted a long time ago. On top of that it was a game for peace and multi-religion understanding.

"I thought today where we are a bit in front of an international religious war [in Gaza], it was a very important game. He is a great person. He shows humility and is available to meet for everybody, has a word with everybody.

“He is also a football fan. He is a supporter of San Lorenzo in Argentina. You cannot be born in Argentina and not be a football fan. He spoke with many Argentinians, so I wanted to be discreet and say, 'it was nice to meet you and bye-bye'."

But, Wenger, who now works as FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, was still able to outmanoeuvre rivals Tottenham and complete the Welbeck deal with a £16million bid, despite United's last-minute demands for a permanent deal instead of a loan.

Wenger admitted that his early wake-up for the flight to meet the Pope inadvertently even helped him in the negotiations for Welbeck as he was able to put the time waiting around for his flight to good use.

"In 2014 you can always be in touch with everybody even when you travel,” he explained. “The advantage of that day was I had to get up at 6 o'clock in the morning for my flight and I was available the whole day."

Despite a career plagued by injuries and being a former Red Devils player, Welbeck was a favourite among the fans during his five-year stint with the Gunners. He netted 32 goals in 126 appearances, won two FA Cups and made it to the finals of both the EFL Cup and Europa League.

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