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Rewind to 1 October 1996. Although not completely cataclysmic, events at Highbury for Arsenal football club were not best pleasing. The audacious Bruce Rioch’s tenure with the Gunners was cut short following a season of what might have been and an unknown Frenchman, known as Arsene Wenger, managing Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan at the time, was soon to be unveiled as the new Arsenal boss.
Initially, he would join the club in January 1997, but an impending crisis in North London inaugurated an early arrival for Wenger. Now, the Strasbourg-born Frenchman celebrates 19 years at his beloved Arsenal, a club moulded by Arsene.
Wenger was the pioneer of the English game’s metamorphosis
A great deal of skepticism and pure confusion surrounded Wenger’s appointment at first and no wonder. Gone was the robust, nitty-gritty style the Arsenal-of-old championed, as Wenger was methodical and precise in his training regime – placing emphasis on ball retention, close-control and composure. Sessions would be short and intense, as the long, tiresome sessions where players would seldom be performing at their peak for the entire time, took a back-seat.
Wenger spearheaded Arsenal’s transition to the London Colney training centre, where a regularly watered, short-grass pitch now caters for the quicker style of play the Frenchman began imposing on the Gunners back in 1996. Introducing yoghurt as a necessity before and after meals, in order to combat bacteria, was just one of the dietary alterations Wenger made, while introducing protein as the key component to the players’ diets also proved important.
All these miniscule adjustments may seem somewhat pernickety, but few will dare argue with the results. The thought of a Premier League professional tucking into a burger and chips is now laughable, while pre-Wenger it was essentially the norm. Meanwhile, the vast majority of English clubs strive for aesthetic excellence, to play the game with pace and focus their game on what they can do with the ball, as opposed to without it.
One of the first to dip into the foreign market, Wenger was undoubtedly cute with his acquisitions. Snapping up then 21-year-old Patrick Viera for less than £4million, it was his ability to pinpoint potential and take a gamble on youth that really caught the eye and this is something which very much serves as a focal weapon in the market today.
Playing the ‘Arsenal-way’ once meant grinding out 1-0 victories, but now it bears a completely different meaning. Wenger has encouraged young managers to be innovative and take gambles while at the same time be cautious with funds and play the beautiful game.
Mr. Consistency
To say Champions League defeat to Olympiakos was a shame is a gross understatement. It resembles a potentially lethal blot on an otherwise immaculate copy-book for Arsene Wenger with regard to European football. Following last season’s advance to the Round of 16, the Gunners have not only qualified for, but they have also made it to the knockout phases of the UEFA Champions League 17 seasons running under Wenger – a remarkable feat.
The strain of navigating the club through the turbulent waters of the Emirates Stadium’s transition while keeping the European flame burning is an achievement I personally feel is overlooked far too often by Arsene’s critics.
The move would drain the Gunners of the superior financial power they boasted over their rivals and, with Chelsea especially seeing their wallet fatten year-on-year, it was becoming painfully evident Wenger would struggle to compete in the market. Instead, like the true visionary he is, he sought stability in another department – by placing his faith in youth.
Extraordinarily quickly did the Gunners youth academy become a system smaller clubs could only dream of and, as he battled qualms off the pitch that he was naïve and ignorant not to make big-money signings (when in reality he was merely pre-empting Financial Fair Play), Wenger ensured Arsenal would not only remain a force at the top of the table, but they would also maintain their fluid style of play.
Dealing with change
Having touched on Chelsea’s transformation from a club synonymous with mediocrity to one of the best outfits in the national game, credit should also be dealt to Wenger for the way in which the former-Monaco man has dealt with the evolution of the footballing landscape around him.
Yes, the success which once came like running water for Wenger is now a lot harder to come by but, while most would have seen their philosophy battered and bruised by inevitable change, Wenger thrived in adversity to tweak his squad on a regular basis, maintaining morals but also results.
We now see a man blessed with a squad of youth and experience. The financial burden of the Emirates now no more, Wenger was relieved of financial pressures and immediately took the initiative to match the big-spending of his rivals to firstly land Mesut Özil for £42 million, before Alexis Sanchez joined from Barcelona the following year for £35 million.
These were indications Wenger was not reluctant to change as the media so unfairly announced and it is not just in the transfer market where he has adapted in order for his club to compete.
In 2014, the Gunners ended a barren 9-year wait for a trophy, beating Hull City 3-2 to lift the FA Cup. Much like North London buses, one trophy then followed another despite nearly a decade without one, as Wenger’s boys dismantled Aston Villa in the 2015 final of the same competition. Behind the triumphs was yet more concession to change by Wenger, who having previously fielded weakened teams in smaller competitions, began playing his best XI, even in the earlier rounds.
Arsenal also began conceding their characteristically mammoth share of possession to play with slightly more physicality and, from here, Wenger had set-up a side of winners – quite happy to grind out a result when it suited them
How much mileage does Wenger’s philosophy have?
Wenger has revolutionised the game in more ways than one. The Frenchman’s focus on youth is simple enough – bringing players together from a young age, seeing them work together on the training pitch and inevitably play together on match-day ensures a family feel that still flourishes at the Emirates today.
The youth system has, at times, provided a more substantial and profitable pool of players than the market itself and Wenger, boasting a degree in Economics from the University of Strasbourg, has always been incredibly shrewd with his pennies and his risks are always calculated.
A first rival to the devilish mind games of Sir Alex Ferguson, Wenger’s press conference antics and wit have always been a key asset to his managerial reign. He will rarely fail to provide humour with his touchline tantrums or squabbles with fellow managers, while his humble, yet positive assessments of his team’s performances are refreshing in today’s game.
Wenger’s assembling of a foreign conglomerate over the years has paved the way for other across-shore players to grace England’s top-flight. It made for a more harmonic, diverse footballing community and, while credit can’t solely lay with Wenger, there is no doubting he played a crucial contribution – he morphed talents from Holland, France and Spain with homegrown talents to go a season unbeaten. What more proof do you need?
It seems laughable that with all this glimmering success and with all the markers Wenger has set down in the English game, his position still comes under fire and, let’s face it, he did not do himself any favours this week. Nonetheless, to those desperately calling for Arsene’s axing, they should reflect on his achievements on and off the pitch and his phenomenal career as a whole before they start nudging him towards the exit door.
Ultimately, without Wenger, Arsenal could very well be at a stand-still – absent of imagination and innovation. So be careful what you wish for.
