Wenger stories: When he lost it at Old Trafford

Thierry Henry saw Arsene Wenger lose his temper “five or six times”. Robert Pires counted up a similar tally.

And the two legends also agree on the moment that Wenger REALLY lost it: Sunday, February 25, 2001.

On that day we trailed Manchester United 5-1 at half-time at Old Trafford, and the manager tore into his players in the away dressing room.

“It looked like it would be 15-1,” Wenger recalled in his final interview with Arsenal.com. “We looked like we were playing a friendly game, so at some stage you have to wake the players up.”

But Henry says that even when Wenger was fuming, his anger was measured. He would kick something, but he knew what he was kicking.

“Yes,” agreed Wenger. “I still have a little control in myself and I don’t let it completely go, but I push it to the borderline and sometimes over. But it’s true, Thierry’s a good analyser and I know somewhere, ‘No, you cannot let it go completely, don’t become mad’. I know the consequences it can have on the future as well.

“I sometimes do [kick things] but it hurts your feet!”