‘Arsene Who?’ Arsenal’s Longest-Serving Manager – In Pictures

When Arsene Wenger pitched up at Highbury some 13 years ago it was largely to cries of derision from a bemused press corps convinced a foreign manager could never make it in the English game. “Arsene who?” ran the backpages of one famous tabloid, and the reaction to an unknown Frenchman arriving at one of English football’s proudest institutions from the so-called footballing backwaters of Japan was deeply sceptical. “I can show some articles where people tried to prove that the foreign managers can never win an English championship,” Wenger still recalls.

No, this strange, bespectacled gentleman from a foreign land and culture completely alien to good old English football values will never last at Arsenal, was the general consensus. Any journalist suggesting on 1st October 1996 that Arsene Wenger would go on to outlast Highbury itself would probably have been laughed out of the room, carted off and sectioned.

But it happened, and today the Gunners’ boss celebrates a big milestone in becoming the longest-serving Arsenal manager in the club’s history. 13 years after walking through the doors at Highbury, Wenger breaks George Allison’s record of 4,748 days in charge of Arsenal – a feat Allison achieved over 12 years and 11 months from June 1934 to May 1947.

Wenger’s time at Arsenal has certainly not been uneventful. The Frenchman has overseen 3 league titles, 4 FA Cups, 2 doubles, 2 European finals, an unbeaten league season and a stadium change during his 13 years at the helm. All the while he has also been one of English football’s most prominent characters, bringing amongst other qualities intelligence, charisma, commitment to youth development and an attacking philosophy that has at least in part been directly responsible for a fundamental shift in the perception of Arsenal and the way they play football.

So as a tribute to Arsenal’s most successful and now longest-serving manager we at Just-Football.com present a Photo, Shoot special with a look at some of the more memorable moments in Arsene Wenger’s career from 1996 to more recently. Mr Wenger – we salute you!

Drop us your own favourite Wenger moments by leaving a comment.

photo #13 courtesy of Oh Georgie on Flickr, photo #15 courtesy of Dan (possibly with a Syndrome) on Flickr.

Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, England, English Premier League, Photoshoot