Arsene Wenger, celebrating his 20 years as Arsenal manager this week, has been reminiscing about his favourite moments with the club.
In that time, the Frenchman has managed to win an astounding 650 times in the 1127 fixtures he’s led Arsenal out onto the pitch.
There have been countless incredible moments over his tenure. The longest-serving Premier League manager has led his team to the league title on three different occasions and formed the famed ‘Invincible’ squad in the process.
On Saturday evening the Arsenal manager will be targeting his 651st win when he takes on Chelsea at the Emirates stadium but, after all, these years, which victory stands out the most for a man who has done it all in the English top flight?
“The first time I won the championship against Everton at Highbury will remain in my mind,” Wenger told BeIN Sports.
“Some victories are sweeter than others, but overall a good weekend is when you play at three o’clock on a Saturday, win your game and then go home and watch the rest of the football.
“That is the ideal weekend. A miserable weekend is playing first, losing and then watching everyone else win. That is absolutely terrible,” he added.
Arsene Wenger memorably announced his arrival as a revolutionary force in England by banning his players from eating sweets, but the Arsenal manager’s reign has turned increasingly sour as he marks the 20th anniversary of his appointment.
Arguably the most significant agent of change in the Premier League era, the 66-year-old’s achievements in revitalising both Arsenal and English football will rightly be celebrated in this milestone week for the urbane Frenchman.
Yet when Wenger makes the drive from his home in the exclusive north London suburb of Totteridge to the Emirates Stadium for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea it would be understandable if he pondered how he finds himself in danger of being viewed with the same disdain that greeted his hiring two decades ago.
However, Arsenal fans’ frustration at Wenger’s stubborn approach finally bubbled over — it had been simmering for several years — when Leicester, stealing his old formula of buying cheap foreign talent, won the title last season.
Forced to endure verbal abuse and calls for his resignation, Wenger has been battered like never before over the past 18 months.
And failure again this season to win either the Premier League or Champions League could spell the end of one of English football’s most celebrated figures — and with it the closing of an era.