Twenty-two years, 2,298 goals, seven FA Cups, three Premier Leagues, an Invincible season - and plenty of unforgettable quotes!
Arsène Wenger held thousands of interviews during his time as our manager - read on for a selection of our favourite lines from him.
“The supporters have been very nice to me. It feels like thousands have wished me good luck. I know that you are sincere and that you care about the club. I will do all I can to make you happy.”
- An excerpt from Arsène’s first programme notes, in October 1996
“I think in England you eat too much sugar and meat - and not enough vegetables!”
- Speaking in October 1996
“You can never escape the history of a club like this. At some clubs, success is accidental sometimes - but at Arsenal, it is compulsory.”
- Speaking in April 1998
“If you eat caviar every day, it is difficult to return to sausages.”
- Speaking after supporters booed following a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough in 1998
“When I first came to Arsenal, I realised the back four were all university graduates in the art of defending. As for Tony Adams, I consider him to be a doctor of defence. He is simply outstanding.”
- Speaking in April 1999
“I hope you all enjoyed yourselves this week. Your support has been tremendous all season and the away support especially has played a big part in our success… I would like to personally thank you all - you are the best supporters in England.”
- Arsène writing in the matchday programme after securing the double in 2001/02
“I am still hopeful we can go through the season unbeaten - a frightening thought.”
- Reflecting on our start to the 2002/03 season… Arsène’s prediction was 12 months early
“A football club is like an iceberg. You only see a little part of it, which is the football team. But beneath that little bit is a tremendous amount of work at other levels - and that includes a huge contribution to the community.”
- Speaking in January 2003
“I’m very grateful for the honour and I’m grateful to England for creating the sport. I don’t know what I would do without it.”
- Speaking in June 2003 upon receiving his OBE
“When I first put him at centre forward, he said ‘look, I cannot score goals’. For someone who cannot score goals, he has done quite well!”
- Discussing Thierry Henry’s goalscoring ability
“As long as you believe, then it is possible. It's a fantastic moment. I always had that dream and to fulfil it is marvellous.”
- Reflecting on going the whole 2003/04 Premier League season unbeaten
“When people ask what Highbury means to me, I simply say it is the stadium of my life. It is where I have had the biggest emotions, the greatest satisfactions and the best vibe for years and years. When I first arrived at Arsenal, I could never have imagined I would be at the club longer than Highbury… I will miss the soul of the stadium.
"You feel it as soon as you are inside. You are aware that people have trodden that path before you - and I find it inspiring. I am a great admirer of Herbert Chapman - and I’m so glad for what he has done for this club. He shows what a man with an advanced vision can bring to a club. To live up to his standards is tremendously difficult but I am an admirer of his. I love people who not only manage from day to day, but have an impact on the future - and he was the greatest in England at that.”
- Writing his final matchday programme notes during the Highbury era, in May 2006
“You want people to wake up in the morning and think ‘I’m going to watch Arsenal today - I will enjoy it.’ The priority is to get people happy and you can do that by winning - and trying to do that with style. Winning ugly is not a long-term philosophy. You have to give something more to develop the game.”
- Discussing his football philosophy in September 2010
“You never go to bed without thinking about your next team selection. You live with that always.”
- Speaking in February 2015
“Team spirit is like a flower. You have to look after it every day or else it will slowly die. But, as well, you can make it bigger, better and prettier if you care for it.”
- Discussing the importance of team spirit
“The biggest things in life have been achieved by people who, at the start, we would have judged crazy. And yet, if they’d not had these crazy ideas, the world would have been more stupid.”
- On being a trailblazer
“I dedicated my life to this club - and I’m not scared to say that.”
- Speaking in April 2018
“Every single decision I’ve made in my 22 years is for the good and the sake of Arsenal, even when it was the wrong decision my one priority was to do well for the club. I tried to influence the club on the structural side, on the development of the individual players and of course the style of play and results. To combine the three is not always easy and I believe that I will leave a club that is in a very strong position on all fronts.”
- Speaking after supporters sang ‘One Arsène Wenger’ during that West Ham fixture
“I don’t need to die anymore because I know what it’s like [to be at my funeral]! That is quite interesting but I must say, apart from a little sense of humour, I would like to thank everybody who has been nice to me. It’s our job because I certainly got more praise than I deserved and maybe sometimes more criticism than I deserved. It has been difficult but also fantastic.”
- Speaking in a pre-match press conference in April 2018
“Football is about happiness together and every time you are manager, you feel that your target is always to make people happy and have a positive experience by watching your team. Every time that happens is of course fantastic.”
- Speaking in 2018
“The fan inside suffers when it doesn’t go well and I’m happy when it goes well. That will continue. You don’t stop the love story from one day to the next. That will never end.”
- Speaking after managing his last match at home, against Burnley in May 2018
“It’s difficult because this is my life, every year. I have 20,000 trees out there [at the training ground] and I saw every one like that [small] and they are now massive. I will greet every one of them before I leave and say ‘thank you’.”
- Speaking in his final pre-match press conference, in May 2018
“Herbert Chapman, who was maybe our greatest manager, came from here. For me to come here on the last day had a special meaning… in fact there was a photo just in front of the dressing room where Chapman smiled at me.”
- Speaking after his final match as our manager, the 1-0 win at Huddersfield in May 2018
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.
