Arsene Wenger has never been one to look back with any great fondness on the past - but that is what he is being asked to do during these final weeks of his tenure.
The Frenchman was asked on Friday to reflect on some of his proudest achievements, both at Highbury and Emirates Stadium, and this is what he said:
on his highlights from home games…
My highlights are when you win titles, and as well when you have big wins in the Champions League. Like against Barcelona, certainly that would be a game that remains in the memories of people, also the qualification against Real Madrid who had a star team. There are so many good memories but I have not selected them all yet, they will come back to the surface again. At the moment I have not done that job then.
on his favourite home goals…
Yes, [Wilshere against Norwich], Giroud scored a few special goals as well. 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. That is why it is very important that you enjoy success in life, because when you don’t do that anymore you are always in danger.
on the 2001/02 team scoring in every game…
I had special players and a special team and we had a special spirit. We had good teams at the time, Liverpool, Chelsea were coming up and I think in 2002 we won the championship and in 2003 I said by coincidence that my target was to have an invincible year. When we did not do it in 2003, it looked ridiculous but sometimes you have to put the seed in the brain of what looks impossible and take some time for it to integrate and for it to happen. From a distance I am very happy that we have been so audacious but football makes success. In our job, you get too much praise when it goes well and too much criticism when it doesn’t go well and what is easier with experience is to take a distance with that and have some perspective. For that you need to have your feet on the ground every day.
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