Arsene Wenger would be an 'excellent choice' for England manager as long as he still has the desire, insists former Arsenal winger Marc Overmars

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Marc Overmars believes Arsene Wenger would be an excellent choice as the next England manager, as long as his former Arsenal boss has the desire to take on one of world football's most heavily-scrutinised jobs.

Gareth Southgate is in temporary charge of the England side after Sam Allardyce's departure in the wake of comments he made on camera to undercover journalists regarding ways of dodging the FA's transfer regulations.

With Wenger's contract at Arsenal up at the end of the season, the Frenchman has once again been mentioned in connection with the England job, having now worked in his adopted home for 20 years.

Arsene Wenger has once again been linked with the vacant England manager's job

Wenger is out of contract at Arsenal at the end of the season after celebrating 20 years there

Marc Overmars (right) pictured with Wenger and Emmanuel Petit, believes he is a good choice

Overmars, who won a Premier League and FA Cup double under Wenger in 1997-98, believes his former boss fits the bill as long as the 66-year-old still has the energy for such an intense role.

'I think that he would be an excellent choice for the English,' Overmars said at the ASPIRE4SPORT event.

'Maybe it's time for him, if he has the energy for it.' 

The England job comes with heavy scrutiny and a pressure to end a trophy drought which has now lasted 50 years, following the country's one and only World Cup victory in 1966.

After Sam Allardyce (left) departed as England manager, Gareth Southgate has taken charge

Another of Wenger's former players, Ian Wright, believes that pressure will be too great for the Frenchman and has urged his old manager to avoid taking over at Wembley. 

'Don't do the England job - it's too much pressure,' Wright told the BBC's Match of the Day.

'He's going to get so much stick. See the amount of stick he's getting from Arsenal when he's trying to do his stuff.  

'I wouldn't like to see him go through 20 years and the last 10 years [how] it's been for him – and then go to England and it not quite work out and he gets that kind of stick as well.'     

Wenger has done nothing to distance himself from the England job since Allardyce's departure

The Frenchman is now celebrating 20 years in charge of Arsenal after arriving in 1996

Wenger himself has done nothing to distance himself from the job, describing England and English football as his 'paradise'.

'It's paradise for football. It's as simple as that,' he said, prior to Arsenal's game with Burnley.

'It's a country that has a real passion for being together at the spectacle. And football is the biggest one in England.

'If you look at the Olympic Games, England was always sold out. If you look at the darts, it's sold out. It's love. They love it.

'I'm here for 20 years. Twenty years, always sold out. Where do you find that? Nowhere.'