Arsène Wenger

Arsène Wenger
Personal information
Date of birth 22 October 1949 (1949-10-22) (age 62)
Place of birth Strasbourg, France
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position Sweeper
Club information
Current club Arsenal (manager)
Youth career
0000–1969 FC Duttlenheim
1969–1973 AS Mutzig
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1973–1975 Mulhouse 56 (4)
1975–1978 ASPV Strasbourg 80 (20)
1978–1981 RC Strasbourg 11 (0[1])
Total 147 (24)
Teams managed
1984–1987 Nancy-Lorraine
1987–1994 Monaco
1995–1996 Nagoya Grampus Eight
1996– Arsenal
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Arsène Wenger, OBE[2] (French pronunciation: [aʁsɛn vɛnɡɛʁ]; born 22 October 1949) is a French football manager and former player. He is the manager of English Premier League side Arsenal, a position which he has held since 1996.[3] Born in Strasbourg and subsequently raised in Duttlenheim, Wenger started playing for amateur football teams as a teenager before joining FC Mulhouse in 1973 to begin his professional career. He moved back to Strasbourg in 1975, where after six years he ended his playing career and completed his studies at the University of Strasbourg.[4]

As a manager, Wenger achieved greater triumph and recognition. Despite an unsuccessful period at AS Nancy-Lorraine – culminating in his dismissal after the club's relegation from the First Division in 1987, Wenger won the league championship with AS Monaco the following season. In 1991, he guided the club to victory in the Coupe de France but failure to regain the domestic championship in later seasons led to Wenger departing Monaco by mutual consent at the end of the 1994-95 season. He briefly coached Japanese J-League side Nagoya Grampus Eight, winning the prestigious Emperor's Cup and the Japanese Super Cup.

It was at Arsenal that Wenger made a name for himself. In 1998, he became the first manager born outside of Britain to win the league and cup double and replicated the achievement in 2002. In 2004, Wenger became the only manager in Premier League history to go through an entire season undefeated, a run which ended at 49 matches. His tenure also brought the club their first appearance in a Champions League final at Paris in 2006. Wenger is the club's longest serving manager and most successful on trophies alone.[3][5]

Wenger is widely regarded by many as one of the world's best managers.[6][7][8] He has been dubbed a "miracle worker" by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein[9] for achieving consistency with minimal resources. Wenger is often credited for revolutionising the state of English football, in spite of his contentious recruitment policy and lack of discipline shown from his earlier Arsenal teams.[10] The nickname Le Professeur was given to him by his former Arsenal players and is still used by fans and the British media today, reflecting his astute and forward thinking approach.[11]

Contents

Early life

The son of Alphonse and wife Louise Wenger, Wenger was born on 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg, Alsace. He was raised in the village of Duttlenheim, 13 miles south west of his birthplace along with his older sister and brother, Guy.[12] Wenger's parents owned an automobile spare-parts business, as well as a bistro titled La Croix d'Or. Reflecting later on his upbringing in an address to the League Managers Association Wenger said, "There is no better psychological education than growing up in a pub … I learned about tactics and selection from the people talking about football in the pub – who plays on the left wing and who should be in the team."[13]

Wenger was introduced to football by his father, the manager of the village team. As a young boy he was taken to see games in Germany, where he held an affection for Borussia Mönchengladbach.[14] Because the population of Duttlenheim was small, fielding a team of eleven players of equal ages proved difficult. Wenger as a result did not play team football until the age of twelve.[15]

Playing career

Wenger spent much of his youth playing football and organizing matches at the village team, FC Duttlenheim, where he made the first team at 16 and was subsequently recruited to nearby third division club AS Mutzig by the team's manager Max Hild, who would go on to become his mentor, advising Wenger on managerial decisions later in his career, and whose team had been noted for playing the "best amateur football" in Alsace.[16] Wenger's playing career was modest. He played as a defender for various amateur clubs, while studying at the Faculté des sciences économiques et de gestion of University of Strasbourg, where he completed a master's degree in 1971. Wenger turned professional in 1978, making his debut for RC Strasbourg against Monaco.[17] He only made twelve appearances for the team, including two as they won the Ligue 1 title in 1978–79, and played once in the UEFA Cup in the same season. In 1981, he obtained a manager's diploma and was appointed the coach of the club's youth team.[18] After his stint at Strasbourg, Wenger joined AS Cannes as assistant manager in 1983.[19][20]

Managerial career

France

Wenger's first senior job was at Nancy-Lorraine, which he joined in 1984, but he enjoyed little success there – during his third and final season in charge, Nancy finished 19th and were relegated to the second tier of French football (now Ligue 2). His managerial career took off when he became the manager of AS Monaco in 1987. He won the league in 1988 (his first season in charge) and the French Cup in 1991, and signed high-calibre players such as Glenn Hoddle, George Weah and Jürgen Klinsmann. He also signed 23-year old Youri Djorkaeff from Strasbourg; the future World Cup winner finished joint top goalscorer in Ligue 1, with 20 goals during Wenger's final season in France. Wenger was shortlisted for the managerial role at Bayern Munich, but could not take the job due to Monaco's board refusing to allow them to talk with Wenger, only to release Wenger several weeks later after the post was filled.[12]

Japan

Wenger moved on to a successful 18-month stint with the Japanese J. League team Nagoya Grampus Eight, with whom he won the Emperor's Cup, the national cup competition. He also took the club from the bottom three to runners-up position in the league, its best showing until 2010, when his former protegé Dragan Stojković led the club to its first title, citing Wenger's positive influence and continued advice throughout the season.[21][22] His success at the club led to him winning the J. League Manager of the Year award in 1995, the first foreign manager to do so.[23]

At Grampus, he hired former Valenciennes manager Boro Primorac, whom he had met during the 1993 match-fixing scandal involving Olympique de Marseille, as his assistant. Wenger, who long held the view that Marseille was acting improperly, fully supported the Bosnian manager when he attempted (ultimately with success) to clear himself from any wrongdoing. Primorac would remain Wenger's 'right-hand man' for years to come, a position he still holds today.[24]

Arsenal

By then, Wenger had become a close friend of Dein – the vice-chairman of Arsenal, whom he had met during a match between Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers in 1988.[25] After the departure of Bruce Rioch in August 1996, Gérard Houllier, the then technical director of the French Football Federation advised Dein to consider Wenger as the club's managerial replacement.[26] Despite the bookmakers installing former Barcelona player and manager Johan Cruyff as the favourite to take over from Rioch, Arsenal confirmed Wenger's appointment on 30 September 1996,[27] with him officially starting work the following day. Wenger was Arsenal's first manager from outside of the British Isles. Though he had previously been touted as a potential technical director of the Football Association,[28] Wenger was a relative unknown in England, with the Evening Standard newspaper greeting his appointment with the headline 'Arsene Who?'.[29]

What does this Frenchman know about football? He wears glasses and looks more like a schoolteacher. He’s not going to be as good as George [Graham]. Does he even speak English properly?

Arsenal captain Tony Adams.[30]

A month before formally taking charge of the team, Wenger requested that the club sign French midfielders Patrick Vieira[31] and Rémi Garde.[32] His first match was a 2–0 away victory over Blackburn Rovers on 12 October 1996.[33] Arsenal finished third in Wenger's first season,[34] missing out on second place (occupied by Newcastle United),[35] and hence Champions League qualification on goal difference.[34]

In his second season, Arsenal won both the Premier League and FA Cup – the second Double in the club's history.[36] The team, written off by many journalists after losing 1–3 at home to Blackburn Rovers[37] had made up a twelve-point deficit on Manchester United in the final nine weeks of the season and secured the league title with two games to spare. The success was built on the inherited defence of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown who kept seven consecutive clean sheets between January and March 1998. Striker Dennis Bergkamp[38] and a blend of Wenger's new signings, Emmanuel Petit as a partner for Patrick Vieira,[31][32] winger Marc Overmars[38] and teenage striker Nicolas Anelka also flourished.[38]

The following few seasons were comparatively barren with a series of near misses. In 1999 they failed to retain the Premier League title, losing to Manchester United by a single point on the final day of the season,[39] and United also eliminated Arsenal in extra time after a goal from Ryan Giggs in a FA Cup semi-final.[40] A year later, Arsenal lost the UEFA Cup final to Galatasaray on penalties[41] and in 2001 were beaten by Liverpool in the final minutes of the FA Cup final.[42] Wenger resolved to bring new players to the squad, with the controversial signing of out-of-contract Tottenham defender and former captain Sol Campbell,[43] as well as first-team players, such as Fredrik Ljungberg,[44] Thierry Henry[45] and Robert Pirès.[46]

The new signings helped Wenger achieve the Double once more in 2002.[47] The crowning moment was the win against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the penultimate game of the season.[47] Sylvain Wiltord scored the winner in the 57th minute to secure the club's 12th league championship and third double; four days earlier Arsenal beat Chelsea 2–0 in the final of the FA Cup via goals from Ray Parlour and Fredrik Ljungberg.[48] The team remarkably scored in every single league fixture and remained unbeaten away from home, winning 13 and drawing five.

Arsenal extended their good form into the 2002–03 season, overhauling Nottingham Forest's top-flight record of 22 league matches without defeat and equalled Manchester United's Premier League total of 29 matches unbeaten—they eclipsed the feat after beating Sunderland 3–1 in October 2002.[49] The team's impressive run led to Wenger in an interview with the Daily Mirror declare that Arsenal could go the entire season unbeaten.[50] Arsenal however lost to Everton — their first league defeat in over 10 months but ascended into an eight point lead over rivals Manchester United by March 2003. In the latter stages of the season, United overhauled the Gunners as Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead against Bolton Wanderers to draw 2–2[51] and then lost at home 2–3 to Leeds United.[52] Wenger was compensated with a 1–0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup final, becoming the first manager since Keith Burkinshaw to retain the trophy.[53]

In 2004, Arsenal made history by winning the Premier League title without a single loss, the first top-flight team to achieve such a feat since Preston North End in the 1888–89 season.[54][55] Wenger, who was derided for suggesting that Arsenal could go unbeaten a year ago later reflected that his comments were "a season too early".[56] Arsenal's run of 49 league games unbeaten came to an end with a 2–0 defeat at Manchester United on 24 October 2004.[57] The team enjoyed another relatively strong league campaign, but finished second to Chelsea who ended the season 12 points infront.[58] Consolation again came in the FA Cup in 2005, Arsenal defeating Manchester United on penalties after a scoreless final.[59]

Arsenal endured two comparatively poor seasons in 2005–06 and 2006–07, finishing fourth in the Premier League on both occasions.[60][61] Arsenal in a resurgent form threatened to take the Premier League by storm in 2007–08, leading the league for much of the season,[62] but were overhauled by both Chelsea and winners Manchester United after a shocking open ankle fracture to their forward Eduardo[63] unsettled Arsenal's relatively young squad for a few weeks.

In all, Arsenal have won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups under Wenger, making him Arsenal's most successful manager in terms of trophies.[64] However, the UEFA Champions League title still eludes him,[65] the closest Arsenal have come was when they reached the final in 2005–06, the first time in club history,[66] which they lost 2–1 to Barcelona.[67]

In October 2004, he signed a contract extension that would keep him at Arsenal through the 2007–08 season.[68] The then Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein stated that Wenger has a "job for life" at Arsenal, and planned to offer Wenger a role on the Arsenal board once he retires as a manager.[69] Wenger's future at Arsenal was thrust into question when David Dein left the Arsenal board on 18 April 2007,[70] and rumours kept circulating that Wenger might leave to become a manager at Real Madrid. However, on 6 September 2007, Wenger agreed to sign a new three-year contract at Arsenal. Just a few months earlier Wenger led his side to the 2007 Football League Cup Final, where Arsenal lost 2–1 to Chelsea, despite taking the lead.[71]

In August 2010, he signed a three-year contract to continue management of Arsenal until June 2014.[72] His side were on course for a quadruple trophy haul in 2010–11 before a collapse to Birmingham City in the League Cup Final following a mix-up in the Arsenal defence.[73][74] This was followed by a run of just two wins in eleven Premier League games to take them from title contenders to a fourth place finish, as well as exits in FA Cup and Champions League at the hands of Manchester United and Barcelona respectively.

At the start of 2011–12, Wenger was forced to sell star talents Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri. Suspensions and injuries left an understrength team to face Manchester United at Old Trafford on 29 August, and the result was a 8–2 defeat, Arsenal's worst defeat for 115 years.[75] After the game Alex Ferguson defended Wenger from increasing criticism,[76] as some lambasted the Frenchman for refusing to pay big money to bring established stars to the club.[77]

Approach and philosophy

Team management

Wenger has been described as a coach who "has spent his career building teams that combine the accumulation of silverware with a desire to entertain and attack",[78] and as "a purist, dedicated to individual and collective technical quality".[79] The Times notes that since 2003–04 Wenger's approach to the game has been an emphasis on attack.[80] His style of play has been contrasted with the pragmatic approach of his rivals,[81] but has also been criticised for lacking a "killer touch".[82] Although Wenger for a number of years employed a 4–4–2 formation,[83][84] since 2005, he has often relied on 4–5–1 with a lone striker and packed midfield,[85] especially since the move to the wider pitch at Emirates Stadium,[86] and in Champions League games.[87] Beginning with the 2009–10 season, largely due to the development of Cesc Fàbregas, Wenger has instituted a fluid 4–3–3 formation at Arsenal, with the front five attackers changing positions freely during the match.[88]

Wenger had a direct input into the design of the new Emirates Stadium, which opened in 2006, and the move to a new training ground at London Colney.

Developing young talent

Wenger has a strong reputation for unearthing young talent.[89] At Monaco, he brought Liberian George Weah,[90] who later became FIFA World Player of the Year with Milan from Cameroonian side Tonnerre Yaoundé, and Nigerian Victor Ikpeba, who later became African Player of the Year from R.F.C. de Liège. At Arsenal, Wenger signed young, relatively unknown players such as Patrick Vieira,[32] Francesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie[91] and Kolo Touré,[92] and helped their transition to become world-class players. Notably, the defence, which set a new record after going 10 consecutive games without conceding a goal on the way to the UEFA Champions League final against Barcelona in 2005–06,[93] cost Arsenal less than £5 million to assemble.

Player management

As well as bringing in younger and relatively unknown talents to the club, Wenger has also seen a few of his veterans rejuvenate their careers at Arsenal. Dennis Bergkamp, who had been signed by Arsenal a year before Wenger joined, reached his peak under Wenger. He also helped his former protégé at Monaco, Thierry Henry develop into a striker, subsequently becoming Arsenal's all-time top scorer and captain. Wenger stood by captain Tony Adams after he had admitted to alcoholism in 1996. He supported Adams during rehabilitation, and the player returned to form and likely extended his career by several years. Wenger initially was planning to replace them, but later realised that he did not need to.

Wenger also reformed the training and dietary regimes, ridding the club of its drinking and junk-food culture. He brought in dieticans to explain the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and acquired the help of Philippe Boixel, an osteopath for the France national football team who every month worked on the realignment of the players' bodies.[94] The innovations had a desirable effect on the team as it prolonged the careers of Lee Dixon, Martin Keown, Ray Parlour and David Seaman.

Transfer policy

Although Wenger has made some big-money signings for Arsenal, his net transfer record is far superior to other leading Premier League clubs. A survey in 2007 found he was the only Premier League manager to have made a profit on transfers,[95] and between 2004 and 2009, Wenger made an average profit of £4.4 million per season on transfers, far more than any other club.[96][97] A notable example was the purchase of Nicolas Anelka from Paris Saint-Germain for only £500,000[98] and his subsequent sale to Real Madrid just two years later for £23.5 million.[99] This enabled Wenger to buy three players, Thierry Henry,[45] Robert Pirès,[46] and Sylvain Wiltord, who all played significant roles for the first team in the early 2000s. The sale also helped the club fund for it's new training centre at London Colney.[100]

According to Arsenal's majority owner Stan Kroenke, American baseball manager Billy Beane, whose ability to consistently field strong teams on limited budgets has become famous through the best-seller Moneyball, has stated that the association football manager he admires the most is Arsène Wenger for "his ability to spend money and extract value" and because he "can do that better than other people." Kroenke went on to claim that Arsène Wenger is actually "Billy Beane’s idol."[101]

Rules & regulations

Wenger opposes greater regulation in English football and stated: ″I do not want to go too much to a centralised, computerised society. I'm more of a liberal, but I'm also in favour of common sense and good management.″[102] He has however criticised the long term strategies of other clubs, namely Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid for paying excessive transfer fees on players to achieve instant success—something Wenger refers to as 'financial doping'.[103]

Plaudits and awards

When you spend so long with one club, you are bound to take a severe battering some time. His record is brilliant. People should remember that he has overseen the construction of a 60,000-seater stadium while keeping his team at the highest level.

 — Guy Roux on Wenger's achievements at Arsenal.[104]

Wenger has enjoyed a great deal of support from Arsenal's fans, who have demonstrated exceptional faith in the manager and his long-term vision.[105] Despite not winning a trophy since 2005, which has led to criticism from people within the game[106], supporters regularly display banners affirming "Arsène knows"[107] and "In Arsène we trust"[108] during matches at the Emirates Stadium. At the Arsenal's valedictory campaign at Highbury in 2005–06, supporters showed appreciation by deciding to have a "Wenger Day" as one of various 'themed matchdays'. Wenger Day was held on his 56th birthday on 22 October 2005, on a match date against Manchester City.[109]

David Dein, former vice-chairman of Arsenal, described Wenger as the most important manager in the club's history: "Arsene's a miracle worker. He's revolutionized the club. He's turned players into world-class players. Since he has been here, we have seen football from another planet."[110] Similar sentiments have been expressed by his fellow peers and former players, most notably from Sir Alex Ferguson[111], Pep Guardiola[112], Patrick Vieira[113] and Brian Clough, who described Wenger as a "top, top manager"[114] after surpassing his Nottingham Forest side's record of 42 matches unbeaten.

Wenger was awarded France's highest decoration, the Légion d'Honneur, in 2002[115] and in the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 2003, he along with fellow Frenchman Gérard Houllier were awarded honorary OBE's for their services to British football.[2] In recognition of a decade at Arsenal, Wenger became the second foreign manager after Italian-born Dario Gradi to be inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in 2006.[116][117] Furthermore, a commissioned bronze bust of Wenger, similar to the earlier version of Herbert Chapman was unveiled as a tribute to him by the board of directors of Arsenal, at the club's AGM on 18 October 2007.[118]

In January 2011, it was announced that Wenger was voted World Coach of the Decade by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics. The organization aggregated the results from each year of the decade, and Wenger had narrowly beaten Sir Alex Ferguson and José Mourinho for the honour.[119]

Controversies

Fair play

Wenger's Arsenal sides were often criticised for their indiscipline, receiving 73 red cards between 1996 and 2008.[120] However, in both 2004 and 2005, Wenger's Arsenal won the Premier League's Fair Play League tables for sporting behaviour[121][122] and almost repeated the feat in 2006, finishing second.[123] Their record as one of the most sporting clubs in the division continued up to 2009 with the club always a feature in top four of the Fair Play table.[124][125][126] Wenger's team again topped the fair play table for the 2009–10 season.[127]

In 1999, Wenger offered Sheffield United a replay of their FA Cup fifth round match immediately after the match had finished, due to the controversial circumstances in which it was won.[128] Arsenal's winning goal, scored by Marc Overmars, had resulted from Kanu failing to return the ball to the opposition after it had been kicked into touch to allow Sheffield United's Lee Morris receive treatment for an injury.[129] Arsenal went on to win the replayed match 2–1.[130][131]

Rivalry with Sir Alex Ferguson

He is also well known for his rivalry with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. This rivalry reached its culmination in the infamous "Pizzagate"[132][133] incident at Old Trafford in October 2004 after a controversial penalty resulted in a 2–0 defeat and ended Arsenal's 49 game unbeaten Premier League run. After the match, a member of the Arsenal side allegedly threw food at the opposition in the tunnel.[134] Wenger was fined £15,000 for calling United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy "a cheat" in a post-match television interview. He was later fined for again calling van Nistelrooy a cheat, demonstrating that he firmly believed his claim.[135] Both managers have since agreed to tone down their words in an attempt to defuse the rivalry.[136]

Conflict with José Mourinho

During October and November 2005, Wenger became embroiled in a war of words with then Chelsea manager José Mourinho. Mourinho accused Wenger of having an "unprofessional obsession" with Chelsea, labeling Wenger a "rat"[137] and "voyeur".[138] Mourinho was quoted as saying, "He's worried about us, he's always talking about us – it's Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea, Chelsea".[138] Wenger responded by pointing out he was only answering journalists' questions about Chelsea, and described Mourinho's attitude as "disrespectful".[139] Mourinho has since been quoted as saying that he regrets the "voyeur" comment, and Wenger has accepted his apology.[140]

Foreigners for Arsenal

Several English players have started their careers at Arsenal under Wenger, including David Bentley, Steve Sidwell, Jermaine Pennant, Matthew Upson, and perhaps most notably Ashley Cole, while young English talent such as Theo Walcott, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere, still build careers at Arsenal. However, Wenger has often been criticised by other Premier League managers for not fielding many British players. In a league match against Crystal Palace on 14 February 2005, Arsenal fielded a 16-man squad that featured no British players—the first time in the club's history.[141] In March 2006, West Ham United's former manager Alan Pardew said that Arsenal's Champions League success was "not necessarily a triumph for British football".[142] Wenger saw the issue of nationality as irrelevant and said, "When you represent a club, it's about values and qualities, not about passports", also implying that there was a racial aspect to what Pardew had said. In response, Pardew said that, "A manager who is married to a Swede and has signed players from all over the world cannot be called racist."[143]

Other pundits, including Trevor Brooking, the director of football development at The Football Association, have defended Wenger. Brooking has stated that a lack of English players in "one of England's most successful clubs" was more of a reflection of England's talent pool itself rather than Wenger,[144] an opinion subsequently shared by many others, such as youth team coach and ex-Liverpool player Craig Johnston.[145]

Referee decisions

Wenger has made controversial statements regarding referees when decisions do not go in his team's way. He has often tried to defend his players when involved in controversial incidents on the field by saying that he has not seen the incident; this is an option Wenger says he resorts to when there is no "rational explanation" to defend him, and that he has the player's best interests in mind.[146][147]

In August 2000, he was charged with "alleged threatening behaviour and physical intimidation" towards fourth official Paul Taylor after Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland on the opening day of the 2000-01 season.[148] A FA disciplinary commission found Wenger guilty, carrying a 12-week touchline ban and a fine of four weeks' salary.[149] He successfully appealed the ban but was reprimanded and fined £10,000 for his actions.[150]

Following the 2007 Football League Cup Final, he called a linesman a 'liar', leading to an investigation by The Football Association,[151] a fine of £2500 and a warning.[152]

Personal life

Wenger is married to former basketball player Annie Brosterhous, with whom he has one daughter, Léa[12] (born 1997), and currently lives in Totteridge, London.[10][16] Away from managerial duties, he is a football consultant for French television station TF1, a position which he has held since 1998. Wenger is also a world brand ambassador for Nike Football and FIFA World Cup sponsor Castrol. As part of the latter's arrangement, he has conducted several training camps for international youth teams worldwide, as well as advising and providing input to the Castrol Performance Index, FIFA's official ratings system, used for gauging player ratings at official FIFA tournaments ever since the system's inception.[153][154][155] Wenger is also renowned for being multilingual; in addition to speaking fluent French, German and English, he commands some Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.[156][157]

Wenger has also authored a book on football management exclusively for the Japanese market, Shōsha no Spirit (勝者のエスプリ Shōsha no Esupuri?, lit. The Spirit of Conquest in English and L'esprit conquérant in French), published by Japan Broadcast Publishing (a subsidiary of NHK) in September 1997, in which he highlights his managerial philosophy, ideals and values, as well as his thoughts on Japanese football and the game as a whole.[16][158]

In 2007, Wenger had an asteroid, 33179 Arsènewenger, named after him[159] by the astronomer Ian P. Griffin, who states Arsenal as his favourite football club.[160]

Statistics

Player

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Coupe de la Ligue Europe Total
1978–79 Strasbourg Division 1 2 0 1 0
1979–80 1 0 –
1980–81 8 0 –
Total France 11 0 1 0
Career total 11 0 1 0

[1]

Manager

As of 2 January 2012.[161]
Team From To Record
G W D[nb 1] L Win %
Nancy-Lorraine 1984 1987 &10000000000000114000000114 &1000000000000003300000033 &1000000000000003000000030 &1000000000000005100000051 &1000000000000002894999928.95
Monaco 1987 1995 &10000000000000266000000266 &10000000000000130000000130 &1000000000000005300000053 &1000000000000008300000083 &1000000000000004886999948.87
Nagoya Grampus Eight 1995 1996 &1000000000000005600000056 &1000000000000003800000038 &100000000000000000000000 &1000000000000001800000018 &1000000000000006785999967.86
Arsenal 30 September 1996 Present &10000000000000878000000878 &10000000000000501000000501 &10000000000000211000000211 &10000000000000166000000166 &1000000000000005706000057.06
Total &100000000000013140000001,314 &10000000000000702000000702 &10000000000000294000000294 &10000000000000318000000318 &1000000000000005342000053.42
Note
  1. ^ At the time of Wenger’s tenure in Japan, the result of a J-League match could not be a draw. In the event of scores being level at the end of 90 minutes, matches would be decided by extra time and penalties.

[162]

Honours

Player

Strasbourg

Winner:

Manager

Monaco

Winner:

Runner-up:

Nagoya Grampus

Winner:

Arsenal

Winner:

Runner-up:

Individual

References

Notes
  1. ^ a b "Arsène Wenger". Racingstub. http://www.racingstub.com/page.php?page=joueur&id=101. Retrieved 31 October 2009. 
  2. ^ a b c "2003 Queen's birthday honours announced". BBC News publisher=BBC. 14 June 2003. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/2988090.stm. Retrieved 1 January 2010. 
  3. ^ a b "Arsène Wenger". Arsenal. http://www.arsenal.com/first-team/coaching-staff/ars-ne-wenger. Retrieved 5 March 2009. 
  4. ^ Matthew, Hernon. "Management styles: Arsène Wenger". Businesswings. http://www.businesswings.co.uk/articles/Management-Styles-Ars%C3%A8ne-Wenger. Retrieved 2 January 2011. 
  5. ^ In terms of length of tenure, George Allison's 13 years in charge of Arsenal between 1934 and 1947 is more than Wenger's 12½ (as of March 2009), but Allison's period included the entirety of the Second World War, where no official football was played, and thus Wenger has overseen more matches.
  6. ^ "Man Utd icon Neville: Wenger best manager Arsenal could hope for". Tribal Football. http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/man-utd-icon-neville-wenger-best-manager-arsenal-could-hope-1600931. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
  7. ^ "Messi hoping for summer signing of Gunners' striker Fabregas". Daily Mail. 19 February 2011. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1358608/Barcelonas-Lionel-Messi-hoping-summer-signing-Arsenal-striker-Cesc-Fabregas.html. Retrieved 6 June 2011. "It makes me really happy to hear such important football people speaking kindly of you." 
  8. ^ "Bruce: Wenger is a genius". sport.co.uk. 6 June 2011. http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/51216/Bruce_Wenger_is_a_genius.aspx. Retrieved 6 June 2011. 
  9. ^ Winter, Henry (6 December 2001). "Wenger, an expert of timing". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/3018234/Arsenal-sign-Wenger-with-expert-timing.html. Retrieved 1 June 2010. 
  10. ^ a b Lawrence, Amy (1 October 2006). "French lessons". The Observer (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/oct/01/sport.comment1. Retrieved 5 May 2008. 
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Bibliography
  • Rivoire, Xavier (2007). Arsène Wenger: The Biography. London: Aurum Press Ltd. ISBN 1-845-13276-9. 
  • Palmer, Myles (2008). The Professor: Arsène Wenger. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 0-753-51097-9. 

Further reading

External links

Arsenal F.C. – current squad