it’s in a healthy situation,” he says. “We had
no support from anyone – we had to buy the
land for £120m, build the new stadium and
then pay it back.
“It was extremely difficult but I accepted
the challenge, and I’m proud to have served
the club with total commitment and integrity.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t make mistakes,
but it was completely to help the club come
through that period. You see now that Spurs
are going through that period as well – they
have fewer resources.”
Would he have won more league titles at
Arsenal if the Gunners hadn’t left Highbury?
“I don’t know,” he admits. “Chelsea came in
and spent a lot of money, and with 38,000
fans we could not have competed with them
financially. Manchester City came in, United
had more financial power, you had Liverpool
who had financial power, you had Tottenham- and at the time I joined Arsenal, Newcastle
were a strong team. So I’m not sure. I believe
that phase could have been better for us if we
had met another Thierry Henry – like Cristiano
Ronaldo, if he’d signed for us.”
Over the years, the Gunners missed out on
a variety of big names they’d shown interest
in – among them Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Luis
Suarez, Gerard Pique, Vincent Kompany, Yaya
Toure, Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and
even Lionel Messi. Some of them even began
rhyming with each other, like Didier Drogba
and Paul Pogba.
But it’s the failure to seal a deal for Ronaldo
that Wenger reveals he rues the most, given
how close he came. The Portugal star was 17
when he headed to London for contract talks
back in January 2003.
“When I had Thierry, I could have signed
Ronaldo – can you imagine what they could
have done together?” he says. “That makes
you sweat a little bit, and I was very close to
doing it. I thought it was all done. Football is
down to top-class players; decisive players
who make you win. The higher the level, the
more the individual becomes key. Contrary
to what people think, at the top level it’s the
individual player who makes the difference.
“It was that close,” he adds, holding his
index finger and thumb within a millimetre
of each other, to illustrate just how narrowly
he missed out on Ronaldo. “But I would say
that every club could tell you stories like that.”
Arsenal could not agree a transfer fee with
Sporting, and Manchester United swooped.
Ronaldo helped to deliver them three more
Premier League titles.
Given the difficulties Wenger faced, some
bosses might have walked away. He certainly
had opportunities. Asked how many offers he
received during his time at Arsenal, he puffs
out his cheeks and pauses to think. “At least
10,” he says. “Maybe 12 or 15.” Which was
the most tempting? “For me, it was especially
difficult to turn down Real Madrid because it
was a huge club,” he says. “I’m not sure thatMOST PREMIER LEAGUE MATCHES MAnAGED
800
900
500
200
700
400
100
600
300
0ARSENE
WENGERALEX
FERGUSONHARRY
REDKNAPPDAVID
MOYES*SAM
ALLARDYCEMARK
HUGHESSTEVE
BRUCE*MARTIN
O’NEILLRAFA
BENITEZ*JOSE
MOURINHO828
810641583
512
466
468(^359340)
363
*Correct to July 16, 2021
played a few Champions League matches in
their history. Then in the last years, we were
always playing Barcelona or Bayern and I felt
the draw was a bit too predictable.
“But you know, it remains a regret – a big
regret, especially when we were so close. We
were 30 minutes away. My biggest regret is
that we had to play with 10 men. You go into
the final, and you haven’t conceded a goal
against Real Madrid with Zidane, Beckham
and Ronaldo, or Juventus with Ibrahimovic
and Trezeguet. Then suddenly, after just 10
minutes, you have to play with one man less.
It was hard to swallow and it still is today –
but it’s part of life.”
For Barça, that Champions League final
was the start of a great era. For the Gunners,
it was effectively the end of one. From that
moment onwards, life became more difficult
for Wenger at Arsenal. The club left Highbury
for the Emirates Stadium that summer, and
were constantly fighting a financial battle to
fund the move. Meanwhile, crosstown rivals
Chelsea were spending big money – at the
time, David Dein said that Blues chief Roman
Abramovich “has parked his Russian tanks on
our lawn, and is firing £50 notes at us”.
In his autobiography, Wenger explains that
the banks sought a guarantee that Arsenal
would spend only 50 per cent of their budget
on salaries. New signings had to be funded
by player sales. “It was very difficult,” he tells
FFT, “because the first generation of players
played until the end of their careers – Steve
Bould, Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn. The
second generation, I sold at the age of 30 or
- The third generation, I sold at 21, 22, 23
and 24. That means that you sell them for
other clubs to be competitive against you.”
Arsenal’s move to the Emirates came not
long after Leeds’ descent into financial ruin.
The Frenchman was never going to risk the
long-term health of the club, though. “No,
because what’s important is that the club is
in a position today where it can invest, and
Above Heartbreak
in Paris: “I truly miss
not having won the
Champions League”ARSEn E
WEn GER56 The Managers FourFourTwo.com