"It's an emotional occasion for me, but a happy one," said Arsene Wenger after he was reunited with some familiar faces in Nagoya on Thursday.
The Arsenal manager is back in town for the first time since his spell in charge of Nagoya Grampus ended in 1996 - and he was welcomed with open arms.
One of his former Nagoya players, Dragan Stojkovic, is now head coach of the team, and he will face Wenger across the technical area when Arsenal play the third game of their Asia Tour 2013 at the Toyota Stadium on Monday.
There was mutual respect as well as tributes and humour when Wenger and Stojkovic faced the media at a press conference on Thursday evening in Nagoya - plus traditional Japanese dancers.
"We should start every press conference in England with dancing - it would be much better!" joked Wenger.
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