THE ERA OF ARSENE WENGER

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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.

There has been much debate in recent years over the future of the Arsenal manager, especially as the high standards he has set at the club have started to slide. However, it still came as a shock to the media gathered at the pre-match press conference on Friday morning as Wenger was due to speak about the upcoming game against West Ham United.

“After careful consideration and following discussions with the club, I feel it is the right time for me to step down at the end of the season,” Wenger said in a statement.

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.

The current Premier League reads like a who’s who of top foreign managers, with Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino all regarded as being at the top of their profession. A foreign manager arriving in English football can almost go under the radar in the modern game but when Wenger was appointed Arsenal manager in 1996, it was met with a great deal of suspicion.

However, Wenger set about his business undeterred and introduced new training ideas, dietary requirements and a brand of football which not only captured the hearts of Arsenal fans but football followers around the globe.



His first transfer dealings saw Patrick Vieira, Nicholas Anelka and Remi Garde join the Arsenal squad. The first two names soon caught the attention of the Highbury faithful and they were the beginning of some big transfer dealings from abroad by Wenger, who used his extensive knowledge of the European and French transfer market to improve his team.

Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit, Nwankwo Kanu, Freddie Ljungberg, Thierry Henry, Davor Suker, Sylvinho, Sylvain Wiltord, Lauren, Sol Campbell and Robert Pires were some of the names introduced to Arsenal and the Premier League in Wenger’s early years in charge and they each brought something new to English football.

In 1997/98, Wenger lead Arsenal to their first title under his management. Towards the end of the season, Arsenal defeated Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford and went on to win nine consecutive league games, with the defining moment being Tony Adams’ goal against Everton in the final game of the season.

The Gunners defeated Newcastle United in the FA Cup final and Wenger became the first foreign manager to win the double. All this after just two seasons in English football. The changes Wenger made at Arsenal were clearly having the desired impact but there was a lot more to come from the Frenchman.

Between 1998 and 2006, Arsenal won the Premier League three times, the FA Cup four times and reached the Champions League final for the first time in the clubs’ history. During this hugely successful period, Wenger guided Arsenal through the 2004/04 Premier League campaign without a single defeat.

Looking back at statistics shows this era was the highlight of Wenger’s long spell in charge of Arsenal in terms of silverware but it wasn’t only the trophies which gained the manager much admiration, it was the style of football being produced.

Follow to Part 2.