Arsene Wenger - A Tribute

I am not an Arsenal fan, I am a Southampton fan, although there have been many times over the past twenty-two years when I wished that the reverse was true.

On the 23rd November 2002 Arsenal visited St Mary's Stadium for a run of the mill Premier League fixture. After 68 minutes Southampton were 3-1 up and Arsenal, about to enter The Invincibles period, poured forward attempting to find a way back into the game. Their football was a thing of beauty. Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Wiltord, Vieira, Ljungberg, the pace was frightening. The ball pinging from left to right at such speed one barely knew where to look. It was thrilling and make no mistake it left me and those around me in no doubt that we were in the presence of genius. The genius though did not reside solely in the players, the truth is that they were expressing the will of their manager, Arsene Wenger.

(image from: http://www.football365.com/news/portrait-of-an-icon-arsene-wenger )

Arsene Wenger. Much maligned Arsene Wenger. A man whose name in recent years has so often been succeeded by the word OUT that it has become a global meme. I have been a big critic of Wenger over the past few seasons, or perhaps even the past ten. The refusal to choke up an extra million quid to buy Gary Cahill, his blind spot in central midfield that led him to ignore Morgan Schneiderlin, a player purpose-built for Arsenal before his ruination at the hands of Manchester United and Everton. However, the time for criticism has passed. Now is the time to remember Arsene Wenger for what he is, a phenomenal man and a manager who changed the way football is played in England. A man that has maintained absolute dignity over the years despite being insulted by the managers of the teams he has rivalled and latterly hounded by sections of his club's own support.

Of course, supporters of any club have the right to like or dislike their manager (Hughes OUT) but now the anguish can end and celebration can begin. Arsene is leaving and it is time to remember the 22 years that he has given to Arsenal and English football. Ultimately his final five or ten years will only be truly judged in the future. Were his successor to achieve immediate success it would reflect poorly on Wenger's long goodbye years. Or perhaps Arsenal will slip further from grace and those who wished him gone may reminisce about the good old days when Arsene prowled his technical area, enormous puffed overcoat and all. For me, one of the biggest arguments against Wenger (ask @toonpunk) is his failure to win a European trophy, an ironic anomaly for such a perfect European. I hope, and I am certain many neutrals feel likewise, that Arsenal can win the Europa League for their manager. Arsene Wenger parading the gargantuan UEFA cup across the pitch in Lyon would be a wonderful sight and a fitting end to his great career at the club.

In the end, Saints won that game in 2002. Robert Pires, Southampton's own Arsenal nemesis, pulled a goal back to make it 3-2, and ensure an excruciating finish. To this day, the football that afternoon remains the greatest I have ever witnessed with my own eyes. It was not played by my team though, it was played by Arsenal, managed by Arsene Wenger and being there was a privilege that I will never forget.