- Signing Mesut Özil & Alexis Sánchez
The Emirates Stadium wasn’t seen as a prospective destination by the big names in the world of football. A vicious cycle of financial shackles enforced Wenger to be thrift in his approach and to look for inexpensive avenues. That, however, ended with the blockbuster signing of Mesut Özil for a club-record fee of £42 million in 2013, followed by the accumulation of Alexis Sánchez in 2014.
Many prominent stars have consequently embraced the club, but it was the signing of the midfield duo in successive seasons that has provided the enthusiasm to the fans and flair to Wenger’s troops.
- The Move
When the clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid came for Monsieur Wenger’s signature, they were shooed empty handed owing to the loyalty of the grand old man towards the club. The Frenchman was an instrumental figure in the club’s ambitious move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium and despite the stringent budget he was left with to cater to the club’s consistent demands, he chose to guide to club in the darkest hour. Will there be another Arsène Wenger? I seriously wonder.
- Domestic Double In First Full Season
In Wenger’s first full season in charge at Arsenal, the Gunners clinched a historic league double. The legendary pair of Tony Adams and Steve Bould combined for the final goal in Highbury that inked Arsenal’s name on the league title, which was followed by an FA Cup, thus silencing all those who were pondering at his appointment.
- Champions League Final
Champions League is the summit of any club level manager’s career. Wenger was a leap short as the North London outfit were victimized by a fearsome Barcelona side in 2006 who edged out of them despite being a couple of goals down at the half time interval. However, a final appearance on the grandest stage isn’t anything short of a spectacular feat.
- FA Cup Winners 2014
Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph of 2014 is an underappreciated event in the books of recent history. The trophy drought and the frustrations associated with it were at the zenith and Hull City’s two goals inside the first ten minutes didn’t help the occasion for Arsenal. However, mysteriously, Arsenal overwhelmed the Tigers as they managed a trio of goals from Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey to ensure that Le Professeur was a happy man at the end of the game (apart from being drenched with champagne as well).
- The Invincibles
38 games, 26 wins, 12 draws and mind you, 0 defeats; the sizzling figures which accumulated together to hand Arsenal the golden Premier League trophy as they went on unbeaten throughout the entire domestic league is nothing less than a sheer galvanising accomplishment for Wenger. No one before has done it in the Premier League and it is highly unlikely that we would witness such an achievement in the future.
