Arsenal fans as “Wengerball”. The style of play was breathtaking and fans not just of Arsenal but across the country were treated to what has become one of the fine examples of the beautiful game. The teams in the early 2000’s especially could turn defence into attack within the blink of an eye but not only that, they managed to do it in style.

Today you do not have to listen to my ramblings as Chris aka @GoonerChris1886 on Twitter has a few words to say on the Arsenal manager in today’s guest post. I’ve followed Chris for a while now and he is a top Gooner. Give this a read and give him a follow.

On Monday it was 17 years to the day that an unknown Frenchman by the name of Arsene Wenger became the new manager of Arsenal Football Club.

At first there were cries of “Arsene Who?” Fans were not convinced, players at the time admitted to not knowing much about him. All that changed very, very quickly and any fears about his appointment soon disappeared. Wenger revolutionised the club throughout not just on the pitch but also off of it, he came in with a new set of rules, new ideals, and new ways of doing things. He changed the players diets, the training set up and by doing so helped prolong careers of many players into their 30’s including the famous defence which included the likes of  Tony “Mr Arsenal” Adams.

As well as his new methods he also brought a new exciting style of football to the club, affectionately branded by Arsenal fans as “Wengerball”. The style of play was breathtaking and fans not just of Arsenal but across the country were treated to what has become one of the fine examples of the beautiful game. The teams in the early 2000’s especially could turn defence into attack within the blink of an eye but not only that, they managed to do it in style.

Arsene sold Anelka to Real Madrid and from the funds built a state of the art training complex on top of signing French International, Thierry Henry and the rest as they say is history.

Ever since Arsene arrived at the club in 1996 he has gone on to give us many happy memories and achieved a lot of records. Under his management we have witnessed arguably the greatest domestic team of all time when the club went a whole BPL season unbeaten back in 2004; he’s gone on to lead the team to double winning seasons in both 2002 and 2004. The FA Cup in 2005 when Patrick Vieira scored the decisive penalty with what was to be his last involvement for the club.  Wenger also led us to the UCL final in 2006 and although we didn’t win it we were given plenty of incredible European nights along the way, including, “It’s Thierry Henryyyyy, he’s scored. He’s scored for Arsenal in the Bernabeu!”

Under Wenger we have seen him sign players that were either a youngster, a bargain, completely unknown, or whose previous clubs spells hadn’t gone to plan and turn them into superstars. The list is huge; Henry, Pires, Ljungberg, Fabregas, Gilberto, Campbell, Toure and many more. Of course there have been duds along the way and other clubs around the world developing their scouting networks has made it a lot more difficult to continue unearthing unknown gems, but there is no denying that the way he has developed players over the years is yet more proof that the man is a genius.

During his time as manager Arsene has led Arsenal to become the first English club to go to the San Siro and beat AC Milan, to go to the Bernabeu and beat Madrid and to go to the Allianz Arena and beat Bayern Munich. Great European nights, things that will live in the memory for years to come.

In the last 8 years the fans have become grown more and more frustrated as time has gone on, to the point where for the first time in his tenure Arsene has been the subject of criticism and pressure from a growing number of Arsenal fans. There is no denying that Arsenal football club, as one of the biggest clubs in the world should be at least competing for silverware but it is extremely important to look at the bigger picture.

Arsenal have seen through a move to The Emirates Stadium and since then have been in a state of transition. The money hasn’t always been there, this has been confirmed by the clubs Chief Executive and Arsene himself this summer. Whilst the club were in this situation it remained pivotal for the future that the club managed to remain in the UCL, Arsene managed to do so and he did it on a tight budget. Liverpool and Tottenham are both planning to build new stadiums and this will be an example to the whole of football just how well Arsenal have done to remain in the top 4 consistently whilst being in transition.

In the future it is very possible that we will look back at the last 8 years and be able to see the bigger picture. Whilst it has been frustrating, the club has become self sufficient. This is something that has been made possible because Arsene stayed immensely loyal to the club rejected bumper deals from Clubs and Countries worldwide including the likes of France, Brazil and Real Madrid. Unlike several players who jumped ship at the first opportunity Arsene decided to stay and oversee the period keeping us in the UCL consistently. Would another manager been able to come in and been able to do so? I think not, he is a world-class manager, a genius who knows the club inside out, who knew the long term future of the club was more important than the short term glory. He could see the overall picture that was painted in his head and on hindsight perhaps the fans will see it too in 10-15 years time.

We are now coming out of that period and we have already seen an example of the ambition that we have all been longing to see in the last few years. Mesut Özil is just the start. The new commercial deals will mean that there will continue to be funds in future windows for the club to add to it, the next being a Forward, hopefully in January.

Arsene deserves the chance to lead this club for a few more years and not just lead this club back to the next level where we start winning things again but also create more memories. He stuck with us through the hard times so let’s give him the backing for another deal and win things together. He seems to have his mojo back, the fire in his belly is as if it is roaring back in all its glory and he looks the healthiest he has done in a very long time. His body language suggests he knows that the club is back on its way up.

The form the club is currently on isn’t just a start of season buzz; this has been a run of form that has been going on since early March. 19 wins, 2 draws and just 1 defeat in the last 22 games isn’t just a decent run it’s got the potential to be something special. It is difficult to not get excited when your team is playing like it is, let’s just enjoy it and see where it takes us. The atmosphere at Arsenal has a fantastic feel about it at the moment, there is togetherness in the side that has been missing for a long time and there is experience in the squad that has been lacking in recent years, keep it going and who knows what will happen? Anything is possible.

I understand the views of those who would like to wait until next summer until giving Arsene a new deal however I disagree and feel that it should be something extremely high on the clubs list of priorities with his deal up in the summer. We do not want any potential uncertainty affecting not just the season but also next summers transfer business, get the deal done now, a 2/3 year deal and then the situation can always be reviewed in a year’s time if things don’t go well.

I however believe that Arsene is the right man to lead this club forward, I feel he has earned that right and with the signing of our shiny £42.4m man he has removed any doubts in my mind about his ambition,
he has proven that if the money is there and the right player is available then he is willing to spend. So thanks for the memories Arsene, sign the new deal and lets go make some more.