Arsene Wenger’s Pride and Pain as Arsenal Manager
Arsenal club legend, Arsene Wenger, has become the focus of a new book that highlights his time at the club – including the experiences he had after he joined, and the hundreds of games that he attended over his two decades with the English club.
The book, titled “The Wenger Revolution: The Club of My Life’ is written by award-winning journalist Amy Lawrence, and contained a foreword written by Wenger himself, describing what it felt to be part of the club for such a long time. And there’s no doubt that the famous manager earned a name for himself in English football, with his decisions affecting everything from the team themselves to other industries such as online betting.
His First Arrival
Wenger joined up with Arsenal in 1996, and had many wondering who the new manager was, but 22 years later, and he holds the record at the club for the most time spent as a serving manager, which is especially important in the football club world where players, coaches, and managers don’t tend to spend more than a few years in their roles before moving on.
His last few years as manager at Arsenal did eventually turn sour, with many long-time fans growing resentful with how the team performed and how they were managed, but Wenger maintains that he always felt the full weight of the responsibility before the start of every match – he always wanted to keep his supporters as happy as possible.
The Highs and Lows
Wenger, in the foreword of his book, writes that he has always believed that an English person’s football club became part of who they are; part of their passport. They live with their choice, they support it, and they eventually die with it. He explains that having a football club is like a nationality, that nobody is going to try and change their passport and nationality in their lifetimes, and it extends to the football clubs that they were born and raised with.
His Love For His Club
Wenger went on further to say that Arsenal had become his passport, and that while six months at any club in today’s world is considered quite a feat on its own, his 22 years has made him grow an attachment that he will feel forever, to the point where his passport is red and white.
The retired manager finished off by saying that his 22 years at one club made it feel natural for him to feel responsible for all the bad things that occurred, but also proud of all the good that took place, too.
