How Arsène Wenger has revolutionized modern game…

Arsène Wenger is a name in Football which generates mixed feelings. To talk of Arsène Wenger would be to talk of a man who is loved and loathed in probably UNEQUAL measures. As the so called “Wenger out” movement gathered pace towards the end of the season, I think it’s equally important to take a look at what Arsène has given this beautiful game and why the same English fans who demean him should to a large extent be thankful to him.

This is a disputed and probably underrated genius… This is the story of Mr. Arsène Wenger, the man who has revolutionized English football alongside Sir Alex Ferguson….

Back in the suburbs of Strasbourg, Arsène grew up as an intelligent kid. A regular topper in his school as a child, it is amusing that Wenger later started to love Football, considered a game for physically strong and academically weak kids.

It’s often said that Football and Chess bear great similarities. The way the results are quantified in both games differs. However the ultimate aim in both the sports is the same. Exploit the finite space of the game and outmaneuver the opponent. Wenger as a kid enjoyed methodical thinking to defeat the opponents at Chess. So it shouldn’t actually come as a surprise that the strategist he was, he quickly started loving Football. He saw the same opportunity as Chess to methodically outmaneuver the opponent. It wasn’t his physique but his thinking that was his strength as a player while playing for FC Duttlenheim, a small club in Strasbourg.

Wenger as a player, playing for RC Strasbourg in 1978

After realizing the fact that due to his physique, it was difficult for him to continue playing, Wenger shifted back to Academics. He opted for a degree in Politics and Economics at University of Strasbourg in 1971. Again, his choice of the subjects shouldn’t come as a surprise I think. As a kid, he used to analyse the behavior of Football fans and what exactly they liked. This played a huge part in his philosophy years later as a manager.

By 1979, Wenger was managing the FC Strasbourg reserve team. He was awarded a diploma in management in 1981. The Wenger era had begun.

A young Wenger would always visit the other side of the border to watch German teams play. Wenger, a fan of Borussia Mönchengladbach would watch the Germans train twice a day and perform at the highest level in the games. It was here that his strong beliefs about player nutrition and isometrics were formed.

Wenger as a manager joined French club AS Nancy. There were restrictions about spending and hence he was unable to sign new players. The challenge of making Nancy stay in “Ligue 1” was difficult as the squad was fairly sub-standard and he was handed limited money to spend. However Arsène Wenger’s beliefs were shaped at Nancy, as he was given the freedom to try his theories. He also appointed a dietitian and took the squad away from their usual summer training camp to Val Thorens, so that the players could acclimatize to the high-altitude. He not only managed to take the club to a respectable 11th place finish (3 places above previous season) but also moved a few players out of their favored positions. For a few, it ended up maximising their potential. For example, Eric Bertrand, a striker was converted into a fullback.

Though the defense struggled, in attack the team was fluent, pressed high up the pitch beautifully and played some fluid, fast paced game in attack. After suffering relegation the next season, again unable to sign players, he decided to look inside the club and hence played many promising youngsters in his teams. Years later he would do the same at Monaco and Arsenal. The funds he got from the club were used to transform the facilities, the ground, gym, training facilities. He also developed a Sports-Science centre thanks to the knowledge about both Science and Sports he got from Paul Frantz.

In 1982, he accepted the offer from AS Monaco. His team went on to win the league that season. What was remarkable was that this time he was allowed to spend on transfers and it paid off. He signed some really underrated players in Glenn Hoddle and some unlikely signings like Mark Hateley. This time his team was solid defensively and fluent in attack. Again, his insistence on managing diet was crucial.

Wenger at Monaco. His signings Hateley (left) and Hoddle (right)

In further seasons players like George Weah came in. However, Arsène’s team again lacked the balance defensively and they slipped to 3rd place finish. However, the highlight had been his effective use of slightly skewed 4-4-2 with one holding midfielder, one player free comparatively and wingers free to move towards the centre. Wenger has always believed in allowing his players some freedom in attack and since then, he never wavered in his belief.

Wenger’s Monaco team (1989)

When he left Monaco in 1994, the club had transformed into one of Ligue 1’s genuine heavyweights. He had improved the scouting network, the academy and most importantly, given Monaco an array of talented players. His work at Monaco was complete with 1987-88 Ligue 1, his debut season with Monaco and 1990-91 Coupe the France.

Wenger’s impact at Monaco was not just limited to the club but also it was on the league as a whole. French football was suffering in the midst of match-fixing scandals and economic crises but Wenger offered a new direction. He urged clubs to look within their academies and help develop a new generation of Les Bleus stars. It was this attitude that eventually led to the likes of Marcel Desailly, Youri Djorkaeff, David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira taking France to the Euro 2000 glory.

After a stint at Nagoya Grampus in Japan, Wenger came to England as manager of Arsenal. The biggest foreign influence on British Football was coming. No one in England had slightest idea that English Football was about to change thanks to the person British Press brushed off as “Arsène who?” and “Mr. Nobody”.

Arsène arrives at Arsenal

When Wenger arrived, even his players were doubtful. The impression he made on then Arsenal captain Tony Adams was of a school teacher. Tony Adams was suffering from Alcoholism at the time. It was Wenger who helped him out.

In came sports scientists, nutritional experts and highly qualified conditioning personnel – the first of their kind in Arsenal history. Out went the brutal morning runs, the three-hour training sessions under George Graham and the boring, repetitive sessions of Bruce Rioch. Wenger was doing things his own way, and the players were beginning to respond. Moreover, he was doing it by swimming strongly against the tide.

Arsène is one of those managers in England who had to struggle a lot, perhaps the most to win the media over. Media often cannot resist constructing a narrative around a person, basically to sell a story, and the English media is guiltier of this than any other.

The media which was quite Ferguson friendly at the time attacked Wenger’s background. Stories were published about his character. After all, how can the English tolerate a Foreigner teaching them a thing or two, about “Their game”?

Under Wenger, Arsenal went on to play fine football. Wenger introduced English game to pressing in opponent’s half. Long ball football was gone and was replaced by fluent and technical game. Thanks to the insistence on nutrition and fitness, Arsenal players were able to press high and run much faster. In his first season, Arsenal finished third and in second season, they had won the double. Arsène was now building an empire of his own to fight Fergie’s United.

The most important thing about Arsène is that in public, he has always stood for his players. Unlike Brendan Rodgers or Jose Mourinho, especially the later, he never criticized his players in public.

In all, Wenger went on to win 3 Premier League titles, 7 FA Cups and 6 Community Shields.

To sum up Wenger’s achievements as a manager, here is what late Johan Cruijff had to say about him- “I find it ­incredible that ­Arsenal have stayed at the ­highest level of ­European ­competition and England under his management without ever ending up in debt. I cannot remember red figures at Arsenal over the last 15 years. How many clubs in Europe can say they have qualified for the Champions League for 16 ­consecutive seasons under the same management? Arsène Wenger has put his life and soul into Arsenal. In 15 years, I have not seen him make any ­irresponsible ­purchases in the transfer ­market. That is why the work of Arsène Wenger at ­Arsenal is the prime example for every club in ­Europe.”

Wenger once said, “I am a facilitator for what is beautiful in man. I am only a guide. I allow others to express what they have in them.” He tries to give his players freedom. Maybe that’s the reason he ends up buying players who individually are great talents but as a unit, they don’t get together enough to make Arsenal a winning team. Shall we blame Wenger for this? Well, you can. But before that, we must remember that it is precisely this vision about the game, that has changed our viewpoint towards the game. I believe, at the end of the day, the silverware you win isn’t the only parameter to judge success.

Jonathan Wilson in his book “Inverting the Pyramid” addresses this point- “It is not even so simple, though, as to say that the ‘correct’ way of playing is the one that wins the most often, for only dourest of Gradgrinds would claim that success is measured merely in points and trophies; there must also be some room for romance. That tension- between beauty and cynicism is constant, perhaps because it is so fundamental, not only to sport but also to life: to win, or to play the game well? It is hard to think of any significant actions that are not in some way a negotiation between the two extremes of pragmatism and idealism.”

In his book “Universality”, Matthew Whitehouse talks about Wenger’s ideology- “Arsène Wenger, being a man who likes to stay ahead of the game, envisaged a growing need for technicians. From 2004 he set out to revolutionise his club in this new image and style. Perhaps he had always looked at developing more of a possession based side over a faster-paced attacking side. It was clear that Wenger felt that football was moving away from the ‘type’ of player that he had built his success on previously; he moved away from size and power and turned his focus to the slighter, more technical player.”

So where does Arsène Wenger rate as a manager? Shall we talk about his under-achievements only? No, for we have a man who has spent so many years swimming against the tide, only to revolutionize the game we love. He is the man who dared change the stagnant English game, had huge influence on French football. He is one of those men who taught us to look inside the club for success and has influenced so many coaches around the world.

And beyond the number of trophies, the money spent, the transfers, Wenger stands for something more fundamental. Something which he himself explains well- “I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well, that it becomes an art. When your read some books they are fantastic, the writer touches something in you that you know you would not have brought out yourself. He makes you discover something interesting in your life. If you are living like an animal, what is the point of living? What makes daily life interesting is what we try to transform it to something that is close to an art.”

I don’t know what we are going to see at Arsenal in coming days. But what no one, not a single person can deny is the fact that Arsène Wenger is not just a manger, he is one of the most progressive minds in the game. Whatever happens in coming two seasons, Arsène Wenger has done a lot for this beautiful game, something which absolutely no one can take away. Thank you Arsène. Thanks a lot.

Credits-

http://sharemytactics.com/

http://thesefootballtimes.co/2016/01/14/the-disputed-genius-of-arsene-wenger/