Arsene Wenger’s legacy is still fully intact, despite not achieving the fairy-tale send off he would have liked.
Arsenal suffered a disappointing loss to Atletico Madrid last night. It was a game which was important for the club, as it was the last chance to win silverware under their long serving boss. However, don’t be fooled, as Arsene Wenger’s legacy is still unmatched.
Although his failures in recent years is disappointing, it’s important to remember Wenger’s impact at the club since his arrival in 1996. Yes, he should have left sooner than he did, perhaps after the 2014 FA Cup win, but it’s no good dwelling on that now.
Even in Arsenal’s darker years, the man in charge was influential in lifting silverware. Three FA Cups in the last five years, which were some of the worst in Arsenal’s history, is not a bad standing at all.
However, what will always be remembered when you hear the name Arsene Wenger, is the Arsenal Invincible team. In the 2003-04 season, the Frenchman made history by going a total of 49 Premier League games without losing once. Arsenal, to this day, possess the only golden Premier League trophy, and it will be a while before they are matched, if they even are.
Arsene Wenger’s legacy is so special, because what he introduced to English football is now considered the norm. Before his North London arrival, English football was lackluster at best, with teams priding themselves on rough-natured football.
Wenger injected a burst of foreign football players to England, which was controversial in that era. See, England was just as ignorant as their values suggest, and I say that as an Englishman, so having a foreign manager join, and signing an abundance of foreign players was going to be hard to take.
That was until, well, it worked, and boy did it work. Players like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Robert Pires all went on to achieve great things under Wenger, and all three of the players mentioned were unbeaten in the league.
Other managers at the same time like Sir Alex Ferguson soon caught on, and now signing players from abroad is considered as one of the standards in English football. Don’t get me wrong, Wenger didn’t invent the system, of course he didn’t, but he made it the done thing.
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This is just one reason why Arsene Wenger’s legacy will live on forever, do you have any more? If so, feel free to discuss them.