Goodbye Arsene Wenger: A tribute to Arsenal's greatest ever manager

There will be thousands, perhaps millions, of words written about Arsene Wenger in the next few days, weeks and months as his monumental 22-year reign as manager of Arsenal draws to a close.

The vast majority will be hugely complimentary as figures inside and outside of the game pay tribute to a man that changed the face of English football.

However, there will also be a vocal minority of Arsenal fans expressing their delight to see the back of a man who they feel has taken the club backward in recent years.

The expression ‘be careful what you wish for’ could have been invented for these people.

They are losing the greatest manager in their long proud history with absolutely no guarantees about his successor or what their football club will be like in the future.

Meanwhile, the quiet dignified Frenchman will continue plotting to defeat Atletico Madrid and leave the club he built so magnificently with a trophy tucked under his arm.

Wenger has been criticised for his perceived lack of trophies over the years, particularly during a barren nine-year spell between 2005 and 2014, when the club shouldered the financial burden of their new stadium.

However, what many fans of Arsenal fail to appreciate was Wenger’s ability to always keep them in the hunt for trophies.

Because, at the end of the day, what more can a football fan ask for?

There are only so many prizes that can be handed out each season and while Arsenal have not always won them, they have always been in the hunt. Always challenging. Always with something to play for at the business end of a season.

In his 22 year reign, he has won three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields.

There was also the wonderful Invincibles team of 2003-04 that went through an entire season unbeaten.

But there have also been Champions League and UEFA Cup final appearances. They have reached three League Cup finals and a further FA Cup final. They have also finished in second place in the Premier League six times under his stewardship.

A hard man would argue that these second-place finishes mean nothing in a sporting world where only winning counts.

A reasonable man would laud Wenger’s achievement of keeping Arsenal so successful against the backdrop of a new stadium and a much lower budget than the likes enjoyed by Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Even in his final season, when has come under such fire, he has taken the team to Wembley and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. A season that fans of most clubs would bite your hand off for.

Ultimately, Wenger’s reign will be analyzed in two distinct parts.

The trophy-laden first decade and the relative struggles that followed. If anything, Wenger has been a victim of those successful years early.

He raised expectations, not only of Arsenal fans, but of fans of football around the world with his stylish way of playing in the hunt for trophies. Only Sir Alex Ferguson, the greatest manager in the history of the game, has been able to achieve such sustained success over a long period of time.

He may have overstayed his welcome slightly but if anyone’s achievements entitled him to choose his own exit strategy, it was Wenger.

Some Arsenal fans may not mourn him now but they undoubtedly will in the years to come.