Arsène Wenger established himself as a key figure in modern football during his 22 years with us, shaping the careers and lives of those he worked with wherever he went.
Read on for a selection from quotes about Arsène from former players, rival managers and key members of the Arsenal community.
“He changed the way football was when he first came here. I don’t think an awful lot of people knew about him at the time, but he came in and changed the way football was in England. That takes so much courage, to go against all that was known by English teams. Then to be so successful and go unbeaten throughout the 2003/04 season… there’s loads of achievements which are remarkable. He’s done so much for this club.” - Aaron Ramsey, speaking in 2018
“Players loved to play for him. He always wanted to improve them. He was very respectful to his players and they loved his philosophy, which was always to go on the attack, win the ball and be positive at all times. It’s a philosophy he’s carried throughout his career - it’s still the same now. It’s why people around the world love to watch Arsenal.” - Pat Rice, speaking in 2018
“To say sport is trivial is foolish. It’s the opportunity to watch dedication and values become beauty and elation, which emulates in a collective way what we dream of doing in an individual sense. These are the things that Wenger’s Arsenal gave me. Merci Arsène.” - Arsenal supporter David Robinson, speaking in 2018
"I asked him to take a holiday, and he said: 'well, I had one in 1983!'. His idea of an anniversary party is to go out for dinner at 6.30pm and home by 7.45pm to watch the next match!" - Ken Friar
“In a certain way, I relished the rivalry we had but I also had a bit of trepidation, because you had to win those matches. The contests between those two great clubs, I actually think it made the Premier League. It was the highlight of the league for seven or eight years… my abiding memory from the point of view of Manchester United was Arsène winning the double in his first full season, in 1997/98. It certainly raised the stakes for us, no question about that. A double in his first full year - that was amazing.” - Sir Alex Ferguson, speaking in 2018
“In many years’ time, when they write the definitive football history of the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st, Arsène will be given a prominent place - as prominent as the likes of Herbert Chapman and George Allison before him. That, I suppose, sums it all up.” - Martin Tyler, speaking in 2018
“Even when we had a great team, like in 2003/04, we needed him. We won the league at Tottenham and felt as though we’d really achieved something special - and that was enough for us. But the boss wanted more. He told us how historic it would be to go through the season unbeaten. We managed to do it - but had he not talked about it, we wouldn’t have felt the same kind of pressure and ambition to achieve it.” - Patrick Vieira, speaking in 2018
"He lives, breathes, sleeps football. I remember coming back from a Champions League game at like two in the morning, and we took our cars and went home. But the first thing he did was in the days when we still had tapes, he was going into his office and watching the game. What you don't see is the amount of hours he puts in on the field and in his office to make sure the team can perform." - Thierry Henry
“I did wonder why we had to do all that stretching. When he first arrived, it was stretching, stretching, stretching. But quite literally, he extended my career at the top by five years.” - Lee Dixon, speaking in 2002
“In terms of style, Arsène has two expressions. ‘Progression with possession’ and ‘explosive pace’. Together, they scare a defence. Watching it was like poetry in motion. We were seeing football from another planet.” - David Dein
"He is the boss. Even now I call him boss, because he is the definition of the boss. Arsène Wenger = the boss." - Robert Pires
“He has that capacity to make you feel 10 feet tall - and every single player in that team feels that without them, the team wouldn’t be successful. Therefore, you take an ownership of what’s ahead of you. You take the decisions and you can change the course of history every Saturday afternoon.” - Martin Keown
“Arsène Wenger is acutely aware of the traditions of the club. He reminded us that this would be our chance to become - in a football sense - immortal.” - Gilberto, discussing our unbeaten season
"We had the same idea about football. We like the creative style of football, the attacking style of football and off the pitch we like the discipline to give everything for football.” - Dennis Bergkamp
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
