Arsene Wenger’s Life in Red & White 

I have long anticipated the release of Arsene Wenger’s book and was very delighted to receive my copy in the post. I was so delighted, I finished reading the book in less than three days.  

There were doubts that he will ever write a tell all book as he himself alluded to in media interviews in November 2017. So, it is not surprising that he has not written such a book. While those of us on the side lines will very much want to read such a tell all book, we might have to wait for the memoirs of the Arsenal board members at the time of Wenger’s departure to understand the full details. 

After reading Arsene’s book and also reading at least one review of the book by a journalist who has previously written about football, I was taken aback by the vitriol directed at Wenger. That critic might need reminding that this is Arsene’s book, Arsene’s stories and he will tell it as he likes. You do not get to choose how a man tells his story. 

Arsene has chosen to write a non-controversial book. A book that could serve as a manual for aspiring football managers. A book that can be used as a manual of how to live life and achieve your life goals. There is a lot in the book for people looking for inspiration and I fully recommend this book. 

You can tell Arsene is at peace with his own life. He feels fulfilled and he is grasping the opportunity he has to rectify a few things football has deprived him off. He is kind and considerate to his nearest and dearest. He has kept his friends from his youth and has a number of very close advisers you have never heard off. Often, the sidekicks of such a popular man jostle for media attention but not Arsene’s advisers. And to top it all off, Mr Wenger is still playing a very important global role in the development of football.

From the book you can see that some of the vile things that have been said about Wenger in England are deeply upsetting but he is not bitter and does not bear a grudge. Can you imagine the British media sending people to interview Wenger’s very young step children and asking them disgusting questions about their step dad? No wonder Wenger took Mourinho’s stupid Voyeur comments very personal. The Portuguese was probably referencing the vile comments from the British media referred to earlier. 

Wenger’s matured way of handling terrible misdemeanours on the part of others was not a one – off. Before the Marseille bribery scandal became public in France, Wenger had his suspicions and he was right as it later turned out. Despite these suspicions, he never acted them out publicly with his players. He never became paranoid. And even now that it is clear how extensive the scandal was, he remains serene. He remains above it and continues to be my gold standard in publicly handling adversity.

There are lots you can glean from the book despite Arsene’s deliberate efforts to make the book a serious one.

I will list some of them here:

Arsene thoroughly understands the history and values of Arsenal and tried to live by those values. He remains deeply grateful for what he considers the opportunity of a lifetime, the opportunity to manage Arsenal and help shape part of its history.

Wenger’s love and respect for players like David Seaman, Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit shines through clearly in the book. He goes on to list a number of players and complements their tactical acumen while offering a view on what has held them back from achieving top tier greatness. Wenger particularly references Patrick Vieira as someone who helped give him credibility and the hold over the club that he needed in order to take the club in the direction he wanted. Although not his style, I think Wenger has flipped the bird at the ignorant commentators who always claimed he never replaced Vieira. In not too many words and in what should be easy for a toddler to understand, players like Vieira are irreplaceable. 

A whole page of the book is devoted to talking about Mesut Ozil’s talent. No doubt Wenger fully rated him. No player got this type of mention in the book.

Arsene almost left Arsenal at the end of the 2006 / 07 season. He was suffering from burn out. This was after only one season at The Emirates. For a man who was looking forward to a new life at Arsenal following the move away from Highbury, the work load must have been overwhelming for him to be exhausted. 

Many have criticised how the Invincibles Team was quickly dismantled. Arsene answered this in his book. The club needed money and the players wanted to leave. A life lesson that many of today’s fans need to learn. Eating your cake and having it is not going to work. 

Arsene shares in the nostalgia for Highbury like many old school Arsenal fans

Wenger would have loved to win a European competition but it is not an all-consuming regret. He believes and I agree that winning the Premier League is a lot harder than winning the Champions League. And for all of the noise about Wenger not progressing Arsenal in the Champions League, the club had never played in the Champions League prior to Arsene’s arrival. Considering the money each of Arsene’s participation in the Champions League brought Arsenal, every single one of Arsenal’s matches in the Champions League should be considered a mark of progress and a sign of success. 

Arsene is reported to have said Top Four is like a trophy. He was right then and he is right now. In this book, he said that he sang as if he won the Premier League on the occasions when Arsenal especially clinched the Top Four slot at the end of the last match of the season. The shameless way some fans and some clubs celebrate Top Four now is proof of Arsene’s foresight. This celebration is less than two years after the same fans claim to be tired of Arsene and Arsenal’s achievements in getting the Top Four slot. On this basis alone, I do not think Arsenal deserves the Top Four slot for a long time. As a fan, I want it to happen but as someone who believes in people getting what they wish for, I am firmly of the opinion that Arsenal should not get it. However, Wenger doesn’t agree as he wants Arsenal to win both the Premier League and the Champions League. 

Many have commented about the fact that Wenger didn’t mention Mourinho once in the book. This doesn’t surprise me at all. Why would anybody want to talk about a journeyman manager that has been sacked from his last three jobs and is now managing a club reputed to be the greatest chokers in history.  Having said that, I am surprised many commentators have not focused on the absence of Gazidis in the book. Wenger only mentions him twice in passing. Read into this what you wish. 

Wenger acknowledges some of the criticism his Emirates era squads have received. He clearly agrees that they have lacked maturity or as the critics like to say, lacked mental strength, character or belief. 

A section of the board of Arsenal directors were hostile to Arsene. Directors in 2018 were E. S (Stan) & J. W. (Josh) Kroenke, Sir Chips Keswick, Ken Friar, Lord Harris of Peckham and I. E. Gazidis. Interesting to know which section of the board were against Arsene or were hostile to him. Wenger felt that the people making decisions for the club knew the club less well than he did. I suspect that he has been proved right in light of the outcome we have witnessed in the two seasons Unai Emery was in charge. We got our Arsenal back and we didn’t like it. 

Fans & pundits who accused Arsene of a lack of ambition were ignorant. Qualifying for the Champions League three times out of every five seasons was the goal. Arsene surpassed this repeatedly.

Arsenal fans who sang that the club should spend some EFFING MONEY were ignorant. The Banks had decreed otherwise. 

Robin Van Persie begged to come back to Arsenal. The treasonous toad. He has some guts on him. 

Kolo Toure’s signing is the cheapest in the entire history of football.

The departure of Ashley Cole from Arsenal to Chelsea is one of the great regrets of Arsene’s life.

He considers the transfer of Serge Gnabry a regret. This is surprising to me as I clearly understood why Serge had to leave. There were better players in front of him. However, I differ to Wenger’s knowledge on this one.

Alex Ferguson had a crushing authority over English football and exerted subconscious pressure on everyone including the referees. 

Arsene refers to the October 2004 loss at Old Trafford as a hold up job. Sounds to me like a direct reference to what many believe is the clearest case and evidence of official corruption in the English game

For a 70-year-old, Wenger has a very amazing physical routine. He is in very good health and in fine physical form. He still plays football. 

Arsene was determined to give up his job in Japan if his employers carried out their threat to fire his translator. He saved the translator’s job. He did this not from a position of strength as on the field results were dire and his employers could have easily let him go.

Wenger is very grateful to the people who gave him a leg up in life. He remains close friends with them. He reinforced this feeling of appreciation during his recent appearance on the Graham Norton show.

Destiny played a role in Arsene landing a job with Arsenal. First, he took a decision at age 29 to study English Language at Cambridge for three weeks. He is clear he wouldn’t have gotten the Arsenal job 18 years later if not for this educational program at Cambridge.  Also, he fortuitously left Turkey for England to watch a match and it turns out the available match was an Arsenal one. He got into a conversation with a lady at half time who turned out to be the Arsenal Vice Chairman’s wife and the rest they say is history.

A reminder that there was a time when the best footballers in England ended up overseas as there was more money in the European game. To a large extent, the launch of the Premier League has changed that trend.   

Wenger’s humility shines through in this book. Looking at the impact he has had on a few careers, he has resisted the temptation to claim the credit for the heights any of his players have achieved.

Leaving Arsenal wasn’t down to Arsene. Left to him, he would have waited till his contract expired the next season. He describes the after effect of his departure as brutal, very lonely, very painful and sad. It is still too emotional for him to physically visit The Emirates to watch matches. Reading between the lines it appears he believes the club temporarily lost its class in the way his departure was handled. Despite these, he remains true to his departing words that he will be a passionate fan of the club. In his words, his heart still belongs to Arsenal.  

I have always held to the belief that Arsene was willing to leave Arsenal if he was convinced that doing so will benefit the club. In this book, he has said very little about his departure. It is however apparent that his departure wasn’t voluntary. 

After two full seasons following his departure, it is difficult to conclude that the club has progressed but Mr Wenger has moved on and he is enjoying the next chapter of his life.