Arsène Wenger: Invincible [2021]
In 2018, after 22 years in charge of Arsenal, Arsène Wenger’s managerial reign ended with a 1-0 away victory against Huddersfield Town.
During his time Wenger was responsible for revolutionary footballing advancements, including dietary changes, training regimes and scouting – all of which are now commonplace as Wenger’s legacy continues to echo across the globe.
Towards the end many Arsenal fans wanted better though, and after a few seasons of failing to challenge successfully for the Premier League title, voices were heard, and changes were made.
Since then, Unai Emery has come and gone, and Mikel Arteta now holds the keys to the kingdom, though his grip seems to loosen by the week. But as much as things change, things stay the same, and here is where Arsène Wenger’s final Arsenal squad are now.
Petr Čech – Goalkeeper – Retired
A Premier League legend for Chelsea, Čech was past his best when he arrived at Arsenal and mistakes which had started to leak into his game at Chelsea became increasingly prevalent in red meaning he was dropped for Bernd Leno the very next season. Following retirement in 2019 he’s now back at Stamford Bridge as a technical and performance advisor and played an interesting role in Chelsea’s Super League escapades, helping calm protestors outside the ground earlier this year.
David Ospina – Goalkeeper – Napoli
Colombia’s most capped player ever, David Ospina never completely nailed down a number one spot since leaving Nice for Arsenal in 2014. That said, he had some good moments in an Arsenal shirt, and was part of a few cup winning sides. Now at Napoli, he’s competing with Alex Meret game time, whilst still holding it down for Colombia. One more thing of goalkeeping note here though, a young Emiliano Martínez was waiting in the wings, yet to blossom into the star he’s become today.
Héctor Bellerín – Defender – Real Betis (loan)
I think it would be more than fair to say that Héctor Bellerín hasn’t quite achieved the next-level status many of us anticipated. Injuries took a huge toll on the man who looked to be one of the best full backs in the world in his earlier days and he’s now finally found a route out of London with Betis, whom his father actually supported when Hector was a child. Last season was a nightmare, epitomised by his many foul throws, but he is a sexy young man and is working hard towards delivering more sustainability in football, so there’s t
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If anyone has a link to the documentary, that'd be fab.
So the new narrative is to bash on Arsène, because why, he has a 'poor European record'. Let's put that to the test then.
Talking about CL only here, couldn't give a fuck about his record in Mickey Mouse cups like Cup Winner's Cup or Europa League. Neither the players nor the coach takes those cups seriously when playing for a club as big as Arsenal. Winning those cups back then didn't even net you automatic qualification into CL if I'm not mistaken, so they were worth about as much as a sheet of tinfoil. That is to say, fuck all.
Nearly every year he managed to get us out of the groups. More often than not, in dominant fashion. The way he consistently got us out of the groups is being taken for granted. Inter finished 4th this season. And Madrid nearly didn't make it through. UCL groups are no joke. Could you see us getting out of the UCL groups if we qualified for UCL today? No, of course not. Because it's fucking hard. Since the 2000/2001 season, up until 2016/17 (our last participation) we've made it past the group stage. Every. Single. Time. Consecutively. Every single year. And you've all taken it for granted because Arsène was one of the best in the world at doing so.
Same with qualifying for the UCL in general. We took it for granted. Between 1998–99 and 2016–17, Arsenal qualified in nineteen successive UEFA Champions League seasons, an English football record, and is only surpassed in Europe by Real Madrid. 19. Nine-teen. To the Arsène bashers; we were in the most prestigious club tournament in history for NINETEEN fucking straight seasons. Get that through your heads, and understand how insane it is.
A wise coach once said: "The most important job of the manager is to sort out the defence. The defence relies purely on the manager. The attack, that is up to the players' own creativity as much as the manager. But the defence, that is where a manager can truly make his mark."
######Who has the all-time record for best UCL defence in history?
Oh that's right, none other than Arsène. 2005/2006: 4 goals conceded total, in 13 matches. Joint with Chelsea this season. And 10 clean sheets. MORE than Chelsea this season. In other words, 2005/2006 was the best defence in European history. Arsenal may not have won the Champions League that season, but Arsène Wenger did. And we all know how the defence looked on paper. It didn't have the right to be the best defence in Champions League history, nay, in European football history. But Arsè
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