ARSEn E
WEn GERcontracted for the following season, but his
intentions were made pretty clear a month
beforehand. “Retirement is dying,” he told
a press conference. After so many years at
the club, he confesses that he was scared of
what his life would be like without Arsenal.
“Yes, I was,” he says. “Because seven days
a week, every minute of my life was guided
on that – then suddenly, nothing, empty. It’s
an adjustment that can even be dangerous
physically for your health. When you’ve got
such a commitment that I had, then nothing
at all, believe me that’s not easy.”
Three days after Alexis Sanchez and Aaron
Ramsey fired Arsenal to FA Cup final glory at
Wembley, Wenger penned a new two-year
deal. Around mid-April the following season,
though, the Gunners lay sixth in the Premier
League, 14 points off the Champions League
spots. With discontent increasing once more,
it was announced that the manager would
step down at the end of the campaign, after
22 years at the helm.
In his book, there is a notable absence of
detail regarding how that decision came to
be made, and what discussions took place
inside the club prior to the announcement.
“I prefer to be private about that, because it
would not be too nice for the club,” he says,
when asked by FFT.
He writes, however, of some hostility from
“a section of the fans and the board”, adding
that “if it had been up to me, I would have
stayed until my contract expired”. Reports at
the time suggested that the club might have
encouraged him to walk away. Was that how
it happened?
“Not exactly, no,” he says. “But you know,
I want to keep what was good. I will love this
club until the last day of my life. Every time
I see a red and white shirt, I will support it.”
Wenger’s farewell tour would last for seven
games. Nine days after the announcement,he took his Arsenal team to Old Trafford for
the last time. There, he was met pre-match
by Sir Alex Ferguson, who presented him with
a gift. It was a touching finale to one of the
Premier League’s great rivalries – in his book,
Wenger reveals that 14 years earlier, the pair
had engaged in a shoving match at the same
stadium, after Manchester United brought
Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run to an end.
“It was very tense in the corridor that day,
because it was a match that was difficult to
swallow,” Wenger says now. “We were both
very competitive and very aggressive, and hecould be excessive. I could be excessive too,
so for a while it was tense. But then slowly,
as ever in life, you put things into perspective
and respect dominates after that. When he
made that presentation to me, I felt it was
the end of a story of two people who fought
hard for their clubs – it showed that fierce
competition had been replaced by respect.”
Jose Mourinho, then United boss, joined the
presentation, too. The Portuguese manager
had previously aimed notable jibes at Wenger- labelling him a “voyeur” and a “specialist
in failure” – but the Frenchman insists their
“WHEn ARSEn E KISSED SAGn A, IT WAS PERFECT”
Lifelong Gunners fan Andrew Mangan, the man behind Arseblog, lists his top three Wenger moments1
IN THE OLD TRAFFORD CROWD
“Wenger’s arrival in England clearly threatened
Sir Alex Ferguson. At the peak of their powers, two
brilliant managers tried to outdo each other season
after season, creating the most intense rivalry I can
recall as an Arsenal supporter. Those matches were
always stomach-churningly intense, but Arsene held
his own against Fergie. When he was sent off at Old
Trafford in 2009, he stood among the United fans
with his arms outstretched. An iconic Wenger image.”2
ON STAR MAN BOWIE
“I was a huge David Bowie fan, and Wenger had
an ability to comment on all kinds of things – not just
football. It wasn’t that uncommon for him to be asked
about topics which had nothing to do with the game.
After Bowie died in 2016, he stated, ‘The message he
gave to my generation was very important, because
it was after the Second World War and was basically,
“Be strong enough to be yourself.” That’s a very strong
message, and very important for my generation too’.”3
SAGNA GETS A SMOOCH
“Arsenal won the 2014 FA Cup Final in the most
Arsenal way possible – a nine-year trophy drought
ended by an injury-time win over Hull, after going 2-0
behind. At the final whistle, Bacary Sagna knelt down
and clenched his fists. As he did so, Wenger kissed the
top of his head. It just felt like a perfect moment after
so long without success. Winning that cup seemed to
de-age Arsene, who’d looked as if the weight of the
world was on his shoulders. It was a big relief for him.”36 November 2020 FourFourTwoAbove In his new
FIFA role, Wenger
wants to improve
the pathway for
young players all
around the world