My reflections of the legacy of Arsène Wenger’s tenure at Arsenal

As the sun sets on Arsène Wenger’s almost 22-year reign as Arsenal’s manager, I will sum up the key moments (good and bad) of his time with the Gunners. But before I do, I’ll give a thorough recap of the team during his era.

Pre-Arsenal career

Wenger was born on October 22nd, 1949, in Strasbourg, France. He played professionally for AS Mutzig, FC Mulhouse, ASPV Strasbourg, and RC Strasbourg Alsace, all of which were in his home country.

His managerial career started out at AS Nancy from 1984–1987, then to AS Monaco from 1987–1994, and then to Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan from 1995–1996.

Wenger takes over as Arsenal’s manager

In August 1996, just a couple months before Wenger took over, Arsenal fired Bruce Rioch as their manager, leaving Stewart Houston and later Pat Rice in charge of the first team until his hire became official on September 22nd, 1996. He previously managed Nagoya Grampus Eight, a Japanese footy team before managing Arsenal.

The Late 1990s

Wenger’s Arsenal won the Double (Premier League and FA Cup) in the 1997–1998 season. This period featured several big acquisitions that made the Gunners a force in the league, such as Thierry Henry, Frederik Ljungberg, Marc Overmars, Patrick Vieira, Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Petit, and Nicolas Anelka.

In the 1999–2000 season, Arsenal lost to Galatasaray in the UEFA Cup 4–1 on penalties, after being tied 0–0 for 120 minutes.

Stats:
1996–97 Prem 38 19 11 8 62 32 68 3rd R4 R4 — UEFA Cup R1
1997–98 Prem 38 23 9 6 68 33 78 1st W SF — UEFA Cup R1
1998–99 Prem 38 22 12 4 59 17 78 2nd SF R4 W Champions League Group
1999–2000 Prem 38 22 7 9 73 43 73 2nd R4 R4 W Champions League UEFA Cup[t]Group RU

Early 2000s

As the century shifted from the 20th to the 21st, Arsenal under Wenger kept being a major force in the Premier League. Fixtures between Arsenal and Manchester United were the main attraction during this timeframe, and boy, they were ferocious.

Key departures during this period were Emmanuel Petit, Nicolas Anelka, and Marc Overmars. Key arrivals during this period were Robert Pirès, Sylvain Wiltord, Gilberto Silva, Lauren, Kolo Touré, and Sol Campbell (who came in on a free from rivals Tottenham).

During the 2001–2002 season, the club completed its 2nd double (Premier League, FA Cup).

Prior to the 2002–2003 season, Arsenal changed its logo to the current one, with the cannon facing right instead of left. Also, Arsenal legends Tony Adams and Lee Dixon retired at the end of the 2001–2002 season.

Stats:

2000–01 Prem 38 20 10 8 63 38 70 2nd RU R3 — Champions League QF
2001–02 Prem 38 26 9 3 79 36 87 1st W QF — Champions League GS2
2002–03 Prem 38 23 9 6 85 42 78 2nd W R3 W Champions League GS2

The undefeated season in PL play (2003–04)

This is the season that really came to define the highlight of the Wenger Era at Arsenal. Goalkeeper David Seaman went to Manchester City, and as result, Jens Lehmann came from Borussia Dortmund to be the main stopper during the Invincibles run and for the next few years after that. The club made critical signings that made an impact for future campaigns in Cesc Fàbregas, Robin Van Persie, and Gaël Clichy.

On September 21st, 2003, the club played a highly controversial fixture against their #1 rival at the time Manchester United called The Battle of Old Trafford. ManUtd’s Ruud van Nistelrooy missed the penalty to keep the Invincible streak intact, and there was a huge commotion after the game.

The club won the title at the old White Hart Lane (or Shite Hart Lane), further infuriating Sp*rs fans — especially after Campbell joined the Arsenal a couple of years earlier.

This season was one of my reasons I root for Arsenal.

Stats:

2003–04 Prem 38 26 12 0 73 26 90 1st SF SF RU Champions League QF

Mid 2000s and transition from Highbury to Emirates

This period marked the transition from the Highbury era to the Emirates era for Arsenal, along with a Champions League final appearance during the 2005–2006 season in which they lost 2–1 to Barcelona. The rise of Van Persie and Fàbregas as key stars occurred here.

On October 24th, 2004, Arsenal’s 49-game Premier League unbeaten streak came to an end against their sworn enemy Manchester United in a 2–0 loss to the Red Devils. Van Nistelrooy scored a penalty following a highly controversial foul decision, and Wayne Rooney scored to put the knockout to the Gunners’ unbeaten streak.

On May 7th, 2006, the Gunners played their final match at Highbury, in which Arsenal won 4–2, thanks to Henry’s hat-trick. The result also put them ahead of their hated rivals in the table. Cue the dodgy lasagna jokes.

On August 19th, 2006, Arsenal played their first Premier League fixture at the Emirates, the score ended a 1–1 draw, thanks to Gilberto Silva’s 84th minute goal. (The first game at the Emirates was the Dennis Bergkamp testimonial against Ajax on July 22nd, 2006.)

Key acquisitions include the 1st stint of Mathieu Flamini, Nicklas “Lord” Bendtner, Theo Walcott, Tomáš Rosický, Abou Diaby, and Bacary Sagna.

Key departures during this era include Thierry Henry, Robert Pirès, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Ray Parlour, Martin Keown, Ashley Cole (in swap with William Gallas), and most of the key pieces of the Invincibles team.

Stats:

2004–05 Prem 38 25 8 5 87 36 83 2nd W QF W Champions League R16
2005–06 Prem 38 20 7 11 68 31 67 4th R4 SF RU Champions League RU
2006–07 Prem 38 19 11 8 63 35 68 4th R5 RU — Champions League R16
2007–08 Prem 38 24 11 3 74 31 83 3rd R5 SF — Champions League QF

Late 2000s-Early 2010s

This era was the continuation of the transition from the Invincibles-era team to a youth-led team, primarily due to spending constraints during the construction and paying off their new ground. This is where the careers of Jack Wilshere and Wojciech Szczęsny took off. This is where all-around villain Stan Kroenke began to play a major role at the Club. Kroenke played a major role in moving the Rams back to Los Angeles from St. Louis in 2016, a discussion that can be relitigated for another time and blogpost.

On August 28th, 2011, the infamous 8–2 beatdown by Manchester United was the low point of this era. It spawned several purchases, especially Arteta and Mertesacker.

In early 2012, Arsenal legend Thierry Henry returned to the club on a short-term loan while on the New York Red Bulls roster.

The key arrivals during this period were Aaron Ramsey, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Samir Nasri, Francis Coquelin, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Mikel Arteta.

The key departures during this period were Jens Lehmann, Cesc Fàbregas, Kolo Touré, Samir Nasri, and Gaël Clichy.

Stats:

2008–09 Prem 38 20 12 6 68 37 72 4th SF QF — Champions League SF
2009–10 Prem 38 23 6 9 83 41 75 3rd R4 QF — Champions League QF
2010–11 Prem 38 19 11 8 72 43 68 4th QF RU — Champions League R16
2011–12 Prem 38 21 7 10 74 49 70 3rd R5 QF — Champions League R16

Mid-to-late 2010s and Arsenal’s loss on their grip of North London

This era was when Emirates Stadium finally got paid off, and so Arsenal can afford major stars again (eg. Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez, Petr Čech). This era was when the 9-year major trophy drought ended in the 2014 FA Cup Final against Hull City in extra time. The club added two more FA Cup trophies in 2015 and 2017. This era featured Coquelin, Alex Iwobi, and Héctor Bellerín’s big rises into the first team picture.

More ominously, however, was the end of their dominance of North London, as Sp*rs ascended to be serious title challengers (especially in the last 3 seasons or so). The 2016–17 season was the first season to have Arsenal miss out on the Top 4 and finish below Spuds in the table. The 2017–18 season repeats the pattern: No Top 4 and finish below Sp*rs in the table.

The key arrivals in this era include Olivier Giroud, Santi Cazorla, Nacho Monreal, Danny Welbeck, Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez, Petr Čech, Granit Xhaka, Shkodran Mustafi, Alexandre Lacazette, Henrikh Mkhitaryan (acquired in swap for Sánchez), and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

The key departures of this period include Robin Van Persie, Bacary Sagna, Thomas Vermaelen, Wojciech Szczęsny, Lukas Podolski, Alexis Sánchez (in swap deal with Mkhitaryan), Abou Diaby, Mikel Arteta, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Tomáš Rosický.

Stats:
2012–13 Prem 38 21 10 7 72 37 73 4th R5 QF — Champions League R16
2013–14 Prem 38 24 7 7 68 41 79 4th W R4 — Champions League R16
2014–15 Prem 38 22 9 7 71 36 75 3rd W R3 W Champions League R16
2015–16 Prem 38 20 11 7 65 36 71 2nd QF R3 W Champions League R16
2016–17 Prem 38 23 6 9 77 44 75 5th W QF — Champions League R16

End of his time at Arsenal

On Friday, April 20th, 2018, Arsenal announced the departure of Wenger, effective at the end of the 2017–18 season. Also, official captain Per Mertesacker is retiring, so Arsenal will have to choose a new captain (likely either Čech, Koscielny, Wilshere, Monreal, Xhaka, Ramsey, or Cazorla if he stays at Arsenal) for next season. We will find out who will manage and captain us next season when we get there.

His final game at the domestic level (and period) for us is on Sunday, May 13th on Mother’s Day away against Huddersfield Town. His final game at the European level for us was on May 3rd, 2018, when Arsenal lost to Atlético Madrid 1–0 [2–1 on aggregate], leaving him trophyless in European play.

My thoughts on Wenger

Wenger was the manager that many Arsenal fans in my age range grew up with and have known as the only one to manage the team, so it will be a jarring change to see a different manager running the club. He is one of many reasons that I follow the club, although the Invincibles season and Thierry Henry being on the cover of FIFA 04 also played a big role in turning me into a Gooner, and I will plan to remain a Gooner until I die.

Managerially, he frustrated me with his outdated management in recent years, and while he did great during his time at Arsenal, his time was up for a lot of us. It’s sad that he didn’t get a European trophy to his name, but he’ll always have the 3 Premier League (including the Golden trophy for their Invincibles season) and the 7 FA Cup trophies to his legacy. And for all but the last two seasons of his time at Arsenal, he guided us to Top 4s, several UCL bids (and Round of 16 heartbreaks), and finishes above Tottenham in the table for our St. Totteringham’s Day feasts.

Hopefully, we’ll get back to our finishing above Tottenham, making Top 4 (and an UCL ticket), FA Cup-winning, and Premier League title-winning ways back starting next season. Maybe we’ll finally get a European trophy with it someday.

And as always, North London Is Red and Merci Arsène! #COYG #NorthLondonIsRed #KroenkeOut

My Wenger-era XI [4–2–3–1]:
Seaman
Lauren, Koscielny, Campbell, Cole
Vieira [c], Silva
Özil, Bergkamp, Pirès
Henry

Lineup form: Seaman; Lauren, Koscielny, Campbell, Cole; Vieira [c], Silva; Özil, Bergkamp, Pirès; Henry

Subs: Lehmann, Monreal, Touré, Cazorla, Fàbregas, Ljungberg, Kanu