When Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal in October 1996, no one could have anticipated the positive impact he would have, not only on Arsenal Football Club but the whole of English football.
Wenger, having been at the club since 1996, will end his 22-year reign as the current longest serving manager in the Premier League and will leave having achieved phenomenal success.
When he arrived at the club, ‘boring boring Arsenal’ was a familiar cry from away fans, as a reference to the way Arsenal played football. Wenger changed the way people looked at Arsenal and the style of football associated with the club and this, aside from the trophies, is arguably his biggest legacy.
When Arsenal take to the pitch today, you expect to see a team who will pass the ball, playing free-flowing football and scoring delightful goals. When Wenger joined the club, this seemed like a dream and the Frenchman has made that dream a reality.
Wenger’s excellent work at Arsenal was not confined to the pitch and he led the way by changing the clubs training facilities and overseeing the move to the current Emirates Stadium, the latter of which he knew would impact on the transfer policy of the team.
Wenger looked towards youth at this difficult time and Cesc Fabregas was a revelation in midfield and he, along with Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri looked like being the future of Arsenal football club as they moved into their new home. However, these players left the club for big rivals, moves which saw Arsenal move down the pecking order in terms of the transfer market.
It was a tough time for Wenger and he could easily have jumped ship, with plenty of clubs showing interest. If you had told him at the end of the 2003/04 season, it would be his last title winning campaign as Arsenal manager, he wouldn’t have believed you and despite winning the FA Cup four times since, including three times between 2014 and 2017, Arsenal have been branded as underachievers.
However, a look at the statistics shows Wenger has done almost as well in terms of results in his second ten years at Arsenal as he did during the first ten years.
Wenger has come under increasing pressure in recent years to step down as the team have failed to compete at the top of the table but the past two seasons cannot be used to judge a man who has enjoyed over 20 years in charge of Arsenal.
He has taken them to heights even the man himself would have struggled to believe when he first joined the club. Wenger’s desire and ability to change, improve and win trophies with Arsenal will go unmatched.
Former Manchester United player and current football analyst Gary Neville said, “Arsene Wenger built the best teams that I played against in English Football. The 98 team was amazing. The biggest compliment is that he played football that made us change the way we played against them. He now deserves the most incredible send off from all in the coming weeks.”
Arsene Wenger transformed Arsenal and English football and it is unlikely will see anything like it again.
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