Making football into art is exactly what the man, nicknamed the Professor, did during his tenure as manager of Arsenal. The man who became synonymous with one of the biggest clubs in the world, so much so that children growing up used to mistake the club to being named after him.
3 Premier League titles, a record breaking 7 FA Cup titles, most number of games managed in English football, only manager in history to win the premier league unbeaten, and many more such records do not tell us the extent of impact he had on the football world.
Wenger unveiling at Arsenal
In the fall of 1996, Arsenal took a risk and chose to go with a young up and coming manager in Arsene Wenger over the more fancied Johan Cryuff. This appointment proved to be very controversial and brought about criticism from players, media and the supporters. They were unsure about a manager arriving from Japan who claimed to bring about a new culture of football at the historic club. However all these doubts were put to rest when Wenger shocked everyone and won the league in only his second season by upstaging defending champions Manchester United. Arsenal also capped the season of by winning the FA Cup, the first of many under Wenger. This was just the beginning of the era under Arsene Wenger.
Over the years Wenger was not just praised for his success at the club but also for his ability to create stars. Signing various relatively unknown players and making them into stars was a common occurrence. The likes of Nicolas Anelka, Patrick Viera, Freddie Ljunberg were proof of this. But no one quite impacted the world like Thierry Henry. Widely regarded as the greatest Premier League player of all time, he was probably Wenger’s greatest prodigy. Signed from Juventus after not having delivered for them, Henry was being written off by everyone. Only under Wenger did he become the absolute phenomenon of a player that we know today.
Wenger with the PL trophy after going invincible
After winning a few more trophies Wenger made a bold prediction in an interview. He thought that he would be able to win the league unbeaten. At the time he was ridiculed by the media and rivals. However he did end up shocking the world once more, when the very next season Arsenal pulled off the impossible and won the league without losing a single game. What made it even sweeter was winning the league at the home of their fierce rivals Tottenham.
The following years Arsenal were bought by an American family, the Kroenkes, who came with many promises but failed to deliver. Owners being stringent led to Wenger not being able to keep up with the demands of European football and Arsenal failed to win a single league title ever since. Although that did not stop Wenger from playing his free flowing style of ‘Wenger-ball’ and unearthing some fine talents in Fabregas, Van Persie, Santi Cazorla etc. However Arsenal were never able to reach those heights again which led to his resignation in the summer of 2018, after the fans and media turned on him.
Wenger’s final ever game managing Arsenal
Since then Arsenal has struggled to even make it into Europe under two different managers, spending large parts of the season outside the top half, making many realise that Wenger was working miracles with what he had. Wenger on the other hand is currently FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development, bringing about many positive changes in the modern game just like he did at Arsenal.
One thing remains certain though, neither Arsenal nor the English game would be the same without the influence of Arsene Wenger.
