1000 GAMES: ENGLISH FOOTBALL WILL NEVER FORGET ARSENE WENGER. Celebrating 1,000 games as the manager of any football club is a laudable achievement. In several decades of committed followership of the English Premier League, I’ve only ever had the privilege of witnessing it once and that was Sir Alex Ferguson, at Manchester United.(turns out only four men have ever done it in English football) Certainly a milestone, but not being a Red Devil, it couldn’t honestly make any kind of personal impact on me. It was just a statistic to be appreciated. Now that it’s the turn of Arsenal FC and their coach, I am pleasantly surprised to admit that it does mean a lot to me as an Arsenal fan. It feels like stability (especially in this new era of result oriented hiring and firing of coaches) long term planning, vision and most importantly patience. The patience to nurture and build a project from inception,starting from the bottom and moving slowly to the top. Just as pleasantly, all these feelings typify the man at the helm in question; Arsene Wenger. Saturday’s lunch time kick off, against Chelsea, will signify the end of a chapter (and by God’s grace the beginning of a new page) in what has been a long and illustrious (if not trophy laden of recent) career of a man, who English media generally agree changed the face of their game with his tactics and ideas about how the football should be played. Generally they(the English) cherish their status as the country that invented football, (In 2012,EPL Chairman Dave Richards made a crack at a speech in Qatar about how FIFA had “stolen” football from them. He apologized later, but you get my point) Yet it is accepted that Wenger changed the English game forever. When he arrived in September 1996, football was at its male testosterone fueled heights with players built with thick “akobi” (muscle) the superstars and a diet of beers and burgers, the norm for them and everyone from managers to players to the media being ok with it. Arsenal FC then,for their part had coaches like George Graham and were in a Mourinho-like phase, in that they were the kind of team that looked to defend, score one goal and lock up shop for the rest of the match. They won trophies no doubt, but then were known as “boring, boring Arsenal”. Wenger arrived from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus and changed all that. The beers and the red meat went out the window, to be replaced by a diet of fish, white meat, broccoli and water. Out also went the plodding, heavy footed style of football, to be replaced by an emphasis on ball retention and possession, silky, slick passing and a preference for beautiful football. The press, were bemused and naturally quite skeptical (the now iconic headlines after his first media presentation; Arsene Who?) towards him and his ideas, not grasping what a coach from Japan (of all places!) had to bring to the game. Surely Wenger anticipated their doubt; his approach towards his media responsibilities always having being based on politeness and calm (certainly it has helped him to be as well liked by journalists as they are capable of liking anyone which is not at all, unless you help them sell) while he allowed his players to do his talking for him on the field. And in that, he has not disappointed. Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera, Robert Pires, Nicholas Anelka, Cesc Fabregas , Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, and recently, Alex the Ox, Serge Gnbary and Gideon Zelalem all represent two decades of Premier League shinning stars that confirm that the Wenger eye for talent is unquestionable. 3 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups (2 Doubles) and 4 Community Shields from his first decade in charge confirm that he is a winner several times over. The Invincibles of the 03/04 season owe a lot of their media hype and respect to the fact that Wenger had challenged the media that his side could go the whole season unbeaten. The initial response was disbelief, until it was accomplished. Wenger has been the driving force behind the refinements of the English game; in his era, the football became about a classier style of performance and more about the entertainment of the fans and as his results gave credibility to his ideas and principles,it inspired other coaches and teams to adopt his approach (dieting and training tactics) so that today, the appeal of the Barclay’s Premier League is undoubtedly the quality of its game. That quality was introduced by Arsene’s Arsenal. An intensely private man, a lot of people (especially here in Naija) don’t know the family man, with a wife (Louise) and a teenage daughter who schools in London. Jose Mourinho, a man who Wenger once told he would have prosecuted for disparaging and disgusting remarks (what else is new about Jose really?) will be desperate to deny Arsenal and Wenger any reason to celebrate the day on this most special of occasions and that is to be expected. But what is important here is the milestone and what it signifies for anyone whose heart bleeds the red and white of North London and not the result. Wenger has transformed Arsenal FC from an English top flight team to a global brand and a superpower in the football of today and he did it all singlehandedly (the last time he had a fellow visionary to help him was David Dein, the man who convinced him over several years through frequent talks and the sending of Arsenal games on VHS by courier to the Frenchman in Japan to take the job). The fact that the man has lived his life on principles of faith in God, integrity, honesty and decency and respect in dealing with both success and failure is enough for me personally to tip my hat to one of the best men I have ever had the honor of watching manage Arsenal FC. In Wenger we trust. Congratulations on 1000 games in charge, Arsene. Cheers.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 15:45:51 +0000
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