The impact Arsene Wenger had on Arsenal after he joined in 1996 was immediate – and it was never more apparent than in his rivalry with Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson.
The two managers and the two teams were Premier League box office for years, with the Frenchman putting a real spoke on his counterpart’s wheel, and ensuring that there was a competitiveness at the top of the table.
Between them, Wenger and Ferguson traded league titles, FA Cups, barbed comments, fights, and most of all brilliant football.
And in the wake of the announcement that the 68 year old would step down at the end of the season after 22 years in charge, his old rival – and now friend – said he was happy for the Arsenal boss.
“I am really happy for Arsene Wenger,” he said. “I have great respect for him and for the job he has done at Arsenal.
“It is a great testament to his talent, professionalism and determination that he has been able to dedicate 22 years of his life to a job he loves.
“In an era where football managers sometimes only last one or two seasons, it shows what an achievement it is to serve that length of time at a club the size of Arsenal.
“I am pleased that he has announced he is leaving at this stage of the season, as he can now have the send-off that he truly deserves.
“He is, without doubt, one of the greatest Premier League managers and I am proud to have been a rival, a colleague and a friend to such a great man.”
As happens when time passes and the rivalry becomes less strong, things mellow and that was true of Wenger and Ferguson, but the fierce competition between us and United was a golden age in the Premier League and remains some of the best and most enthralling football we’ve ever seen.
Thank you Wenger! Wenger forever!
As I am sure a lot of us are, I am still in shock that Arsene has actually stepped down. I know that once the initial shock and sadness does where off, and we’re all able to step back and look at things objectively, I think we we will all be able to say that it was the right thing to do. I am really please that he has made this decision, echoing what Ferguson says, because he does deserve a send off. And those players in that dressing room which he has defended for the last couple of seasons… Read more »
I am obsessed by football and always will be, and always try to play or coach that blend of technique and steel like Wengers early teams. We have been so lucky to witness what he has done to English football, all of which will be told to our grandchildren, even more nostalgically and proudly as those told about Herbert Chapman.
I am not surprised to feel completely torn emotionally. I am a little bit choked up (especially hearing Bob Wilson struggling to keep it together), but i am also massively thankful, relieved and excited. Weird. But great. Thank you Arsene.
Great man indeed….. I think MOU needs to learn from this… That football is much more than winning a trophy or two and run away….
what will be said of MOU when he finally throw in the towel
Ferguson and Wenger really were of a by-gone era – it’s unlikely we’ll ever see something like that again at a major club where one manager runs everything and stays for 15-20 years. Separately can we just agree to start referring to the Man U. manager as something like “the jackass” or “he who shall not be named”.
to be clear -that’s the current one I’m referring to. Ferguson whether or not one likes Man U has to be regarded as one of if not the best managers of all time
It’s a true measure of the command and respect that Arsene engenders, that his colleagues and players past and present are paying their tributes to him. Legend. Not gonna lie, I cried a few tears reading them earlier. If you have time, give Amy Lawrence’s article a read.
Link please ?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/apr/20/arsene-wenger-arsenal-miracle-worker-lost-his-touch
That Arsenal-Man Utd is and I suspect might always be the most iconic rivalry of the Premier league era. Blood and thunder. A football ‘purist’ against the ultimate ‘pragmatist’. Who can forget the Wiltord goal at Man Utd, the constant barbs in the pressers, Keown jumping like a madman at Van Nisterooij, the Keane-Vieira rivalry and tunnel exchange, and best of all, Lauren throttling Phil Neville? Epic epic times really.
Arsène showed his class in this interview by not fraternising t Fergie when he never had before. Fergie, I bite my lips, behaved equally well.
It was inevitable. It was right it was time. Yet I feel nothing but sadness today. Although the past 2 years have been painful I could never find it in me to disrespect the man, to me he is a hero. His biggest trophy is the stadium that will probably one day bear his name. The football, philosophy and his imagination changed the whole course of the English game. Buying a broken winger in Henry and converting him to a striker, whilst having the patience to allow Henry a slow start. Genius. Unfortunately by not letting go earlier we saw… Read more »
Beautifully articulated. Thank you
Two absolute gentlemen. No football manager will last that long in any other club ever again. Boy! I wish I could relive their rivalry. Football back then was something else.
I hate to put a damper on Sir Al’s kind comments……….. But here’s the truth, Wenger as a manager was a Sports person above all else……..That other bloke was about winning no matter what, and his standards of sportsmanship slipped when necessary. Read the ironic headline in the Express today, just before Wengers retirement was made public…..Pillock Neville (ironically now the English Ladies football manager) was instructed along with his Bro and Scholsey by Fergie, to “hack down Reyes” during the game that ended the invincible run. A mean spirited, nasty man, who got a knighthood………not fit to tie Arsenes… Read more »
Some class undoubtedly spilled onto red nose after all those meetings.
He didn’t have as much of the ruthless Machiavellian strict that Fergie possessed. BUT Wenger attained the SUBLIME on many occasions. The teams he put together were like fine wine. Occasional brilliance many times flawed, often close but no cigar. But the unbeaten season, the players he brought in, those moments of absolute heaven. He elevated football into something higher transforming the dour brand we played into something truly swashbuckling and extraodinary and until recently done on a relative shoe string. Now if he can add the europa to the 3 titles, 7 FA cups, it will be one trophy… Read more »
Possible successors rumored to be Sebastian Frey and Solomon Kalou.
Now is not the time for that discussion.
Honestly think they gave him 1 year contract with a potential 1 year extension based on results in this year.
I really think that is what happened despite what the reports are saying.
He truly was a great manager once. He will be remembered though.
Jesus…I’m crying….again
People talking about crying because wenger is leaving! Ffs get a grip! He did a good job up to a point and he was well paid for it and now he’s no longer performing. Enough of watching the season become irrelevant by december. I have read some comments from staunch arsene fans hoping they are vindicated by our slump when wenger leaves. That is so ironic because when some of us were hoping for things to get worse so wenger can leave, they called us “plastic fans”. My advise is for those crying to dry their tears and look forward… Read more »
Have you considered that the majority of fans deeply appreciate Wenger as a manager and as a man? I would also guess that the vast majority of us are indeed excited for what’s to come. That doesn’t mean the end of this era is any less sad or heartbreaking. No one’s forcing you to feel any certain way, so maybe shut the fuck up about what AW means to others.
Just a thought…
an exiting future we only have thanks to tha fantastic work this man has done over more than 2 decades. If you don’t feel emotional today, so be it. But being cuntish about other people that are feeling that way is quite sad and makes you look like an immense arsehole.
Anyone hoping for things to get worse, for whatever reason, is no fan at all, “plastic” or otherwise.
Arsen Wenger.
Top Bloke
Top as they come