“Arsène who?” ran through the headlines of prominent English dailies when a relatively unknown Frenchman with a professor alike appearance was entrusted the role of managing a massive club like Arsenal a couple of decades ago. To acclimatise with the expectations of Arsenal fans as well as the demanding league tested Monsieur Wenger’s tensile strength.
At times, the grand old guardian faltered, but this part of his tale falls miserably short of the stories of successes he has had at the helm which has now crossed two decades. We have brought forth ten instances of emphatic jubilation involving him that have aided the club in making an undeniable impact alongside maintaining a stronghold domestically as well as in Europe.
- An emphatic last day drama in the 2015-16 campaign
The North London rivalry between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur is one of the most ferocious territorial hostilities known to football fraternity. The Lilywhites, due to one reason or the other, bottle up and succumb to Arsenal who overshadow them somehow in the final league standing in the last two decades or so.
During the 2015-16 campaign where Leicester City shocked the world, Spurs played their part in turning themselves into a laughing stock when they were bulldozed by Newcastle United (who were a relegated side by then) by a 5-1 score line which allowed their local rivals take over the second spot by a single point. It was a late St. Totteringham’s Day celebration for the Arsenal fans, but again, it was completely worth the wait.
- Signing Thierry Henry
‘King Henry’, as known among the Arsenal faithful has a statue of himself being erected outside the Emirates Stadium and these couple of anecdotes arguably sum up the reciprocals he has received for being unarguably one of the best servants of Arsenal. Signed from Juventus where his credentials were in a complete mess, Arsenal’s no. 14 silenced the critics as he bagged 228 goals in 376 appearances for his dear club to ensure that he was an astute signing by the manager.
- FA Cup King!
The 2015 FA Cup trophy was lifted by Wenger & co. at Wembley after they blew Aston Villa into pieces with a 4-0 win in a pretty much of a one-sided affair to make it two FA Cups in two seasons. It was Wenger’s sixth FA Cup title, which tied him with George Ramsey in terms of the most successful FA Cup managers.
- Beating Pep’s Barça
In February 2011, Jack Wilshere grabbed the headlines when he toyed with a high-flying Barcelona under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola. Wenger’s side came from behind to ensure a late win by a 2-1 score line to shock one and all as a resilient and purposeful team, despite being the underdogs, squashed arguably the then toughest side in club football. Even the manager had described the night as ‘a special night’, and quite rightly so.
