One life, one game, one team, one invincibles

One life, one game, one team, one Invincibles (So far)

Sunday 16 September 2012

16th September 1996

Arsene Wenger was formally announced as Arsenal's new manager on 16th September 1996.

Speaking in a press conference in Nagoya, Japan he said:

"It is my dream to manage a team in a top-level European league. And if I don't accept the offer right now I will miss the chance. I think Arsenal is a club with big potential. I think that English football is going up and that the Premiership is one of the most important leagues in the world now. So I think that it was also a challenge for me to maybe be the first foreign manager - and for sure the first Frenchman - to go there and try to be successful."

Mr. Wenger, a somewhat lean bespectacled Frenchman was working in one of the world's lesser leagues in the Far East and was due to start work on a three-year contract on 30th September of that year. To say that the majority of Arsenal fans were underwhelmed at the prospect was putting it fairly mildly.


Much has changed since his arrival

And so it was that Arsenal began an adventure which became a revolution. It's been a fun ride and one which at a future date we'll actually be able to assess in its full historical context for our Club. Many big things have happened in the time since his arrival and some may even recall just how average it all was when he took over at our beloved Highbury. Things have changed big time, the Club has changed big-time and the bar has been raised so high since then that we now have many 'fans' who feel our manager is himself unworthy of being the man in charge of an established European Super Club, renowned world-wide for playing the quality football he himself effectively created.

I for one am still very much enjoying the ride and am delighted for it to continue with Mr. Wenger in charge. Feel free to argue otherwise of course if you don't appreciate what we've got going here. It's not perfect but its pretty damned good from where I sit in the Stadium.

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