Arsène Wenger wore his magic hat at Arsenal for 22 years
Arsène Wenger wore his magic hat at Arsenal for 22 years, although his success petered off towards the end. When many thought that legendary Arsenal and Ajax player Johan Cruyff was about to become the club’s new manager in 1996, Wenger signed instead, originally causing disappointment at first. Many said “Arsène who?” No one had […] The post Arsène Wenger wore his magic hat at Arsenal for 22 years appeared first on Just Arsenal News.
RR aka Rishi-Raj
Arsène Wenger wore his magic hat at Arsenal for 22 years, although his success petered off towards the end.
When many thought that legendary Arsenal and Ajax player Johan Cruyff was about to become the club’s new manager in 1996, Wenger signed instead, originally causing disappointment at first. Many said “Arsène who?” No one had heard of the Frenchman who had just signed from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus, however he was about to transform the Gunners’ fortunes at the turn of the 21st century.
The former AS Monaco manager, who led them to the Division 1 title in 1988, brought brand new landmark ideas to English football. He turned Arsenal around, tackling a drinking culture, improving players’ diets and fitness, increasing skill level, attacking play and introducing a new style of scouting not seen before his time. He managed to buy overseas players cheaply who turned out to be legends, including Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and many more. Wenger also brought in sporting specialists at the club such as osteopaths, and ensured that players endured more intense and varied training sessions, focusing on stretching which had only previously been done at the start and end of workouts.
His first game in charge of Arsenal was on October 12, 1996, away at Ewood Park, which he won 2-0 thanks to Ian Wright finding the back of the net twice. Life at Highbury was looking good for fans. By the end of his first Premier League campaign, the Gunners finished an improved third, meaning qualification to the Champions League, which he would successfully achieve for the next 18 seasons.
Early doubles and a revolution
In only his second season Wenger clinched Arsenal’s second double in history after winning the 1998 Premier League title, which saw them jump over a 12-point Manchester United hurdle. This was the first time a non-British manager had won the English top flight. Days later the FA Cup followed after a 2-0 win over Newcastle United with goals from Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka.
After a four-year silverware drought Wenger repeated history, crowning Arsenal with another double for the third and final time. The Premiership was wrapped up at Old Trafford thanks to a Sylvain Wiltord strike in a 1-0 win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United. Not long afterwards Chelsea, including former Gunner Emmanuel Petit, were beaten 2-0 with goals from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg. Wenger ensured revenge in his favourite cup competition after the Gunners slipped up 2-1 to Liverpool in the 2001 final.
The following campaign Arsenal returned to Wembley, sealing another FA Cup victory, this time 1-0 against Southampton at the Millennium Stadium. Robert Pires delivered the winning goal.
After Arsenal won the 2002 Premier League title Wenger declared that his side could potentially go a whole season undefeated, something no team had ever done in the competition. Wenger lived up to his words and after going 38 games unbeaten during the 2003/04 season, the Gunners lifted a golden Premier League trophy (their last to date).
Later years and legacy
After losing the 2004/05 title to Chelsea, Arsenal appeared in the FA Cup final for the fifth time in seven seasons. Manchester United proved a tough side to beat, with the win eventually settled on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate in Cardiff.
The next campaign Arsenal reached the Champions League final for the first and only time. Wenger had helped his side reach a European final six years earlier in 2000 versus Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup, bowing out on penalties. Many hoped Arsenal would not falter again, especially with the final in Wenger’s home capital Paris. Sol Campbell gave Arsenal the lead against Barcelona, but Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti secured a 2-1 win for the Spaniards, breaking Gunners’ hearts around the world.
Months later Wenger moved Arsenal to the new Emirates Stadium, doubling Highbury’s capacity to just over 60,000 seats. Financing the move themselves forced Arsenal to sell crucial players to fund the new home, also limiting finances in transfer windows. Despite this, Wenger kept Arsenal in the top four until 2017.
He guided Arsenal to their first League Cup final under his reign in 2007 against Chelsea, losing 2-1. Two years later, Wenger reached the Champions League semi-finals again, but Manchester United beat the Gunners 4-1 on aggregate.
The 2011 League Cup final saw Arsenal beaten 2-1 by Birmingham City. A long trophy drought ended in 2014 with an FA Cup win over Hull City after coming back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in extra time. More FA Cup glory followed in 2015 with a 4-0 win over Aston Villa, and in 2017 Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 with goals from Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey. This was Wenger’s record seventh FA Cup as a manager.
Wenger also lifted seven Community Shields, including his final one in 2017 when Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties.
Towards the end of the 2017/18 season Wenger announced his departure. In May 2018, he received an ovation as Arsenal beat Burnley 5-0 at the Emirates in his final home match.
Since 2019 Wenger has worked at FIFA as Chief of Global Football Development. His legacy is celebrated at the Emirates, where a bust of him is displayed inside and a statue of him lifting the Premier League trophy was unveiled in 2023.
Liam Harding
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