Arsene Wenger has stepped down as manager of Arsenal after 22 years.
Le Professeur arrived at the club as a bespectacled 46-year-old from Japanese side Nagoya Grampus Eight. Replacing the sacked Bruce Rioch as manager, the Frenchman added to his squad by signing Patrick Vieira, who would go onto become one of the club’s most decorated midfield generals.
Arsenal would finish third in Wenger’s first season of English football, 1996-’97 but would go onto win the title the next season at Old Trafford, as Marc Overmars would grab the crucial winner in a 1-0 victory at the home of their bitter rivals.
In 1999, Wenger would make his most important signing yet, snapping up compatriot Thierry Henry from Juventus. The phenomenal Henry would finish his time at Arsenal as the club’s record Premier League goalscorer, and would help the club to a double in the 2001-’02 season.
The next season would be tough on Wenger as the club would blow the title race from a position of superiority but Arsenal would bounce back in style. The Gunners became the first club since Preston North End in 1888-’89 to go through an entire campaign unbeaten, earning the tag of The Invincibles. This will always be the outgoing Wenger’s legacy, having managed something very few before or after him have done.
