Why Arsène Wenger was inducted into the Premier League hall of fame

Arsène Wenger has recently been announced as the latest English Premier League Hall of Fame inductee.

Alongside his one-time rival Sir Alex Ferguson, the French coach is one of only two managers to have received this accolade. What is it about his career in England that has led to him being so highly-regarded?

His Pre-EPL Time

A look at the latest sports betting odds reveals that Arsenal is still among the most highly-rated teams. Their odds for upcoming games show that this team is expected to win most weeks. In fact, under Wenger’s former player and captain Mikael Arteta, Arsenal is currently sitting at the top of the league and is the favourite to win the title this season. How much of this is due to Wenger’s impact and his lasting legacy?

Wenger was already a mature, experienced coach when he arrived at Arsenal in 1996. His playing career was relatively modest, but from a very young age he seemed to act as a leader of other players before moving into coaching with Strasbourg. His commitment to learning everything he could about football led to him becoming the assistant manager at Cannes before being offered the chance to revive Nancy’s fortune as their manager.

This role allowed him to try out innovative approaches such as introducing better eating habits and switching players from their usual positions. His good work with Nancy did not go unnoticed, and in 1987 he was hired as the Monaco manager. They won the French top league in his first season but overall it was a time of mixed fortunes and he was eventually dismissed in 1994, despite enhancing his reputation impressively during his time in Monaco.

His next move took him to Japan, where he managed Nagoya Grampus Eight for a season, taking them from the bottom of the J League and turning them into league runners-up, as well as winning the Emperor’s Cup and Japanese Super Cup. Wenger was named Arsenal manager in 1996, but there was little fanfare over the appointment of a coach who seemed to be largely unknown to English football fans.

His Time at Arsenal

Yet, by 1998 his revolutionary approach had made Wenger the first foreign manager to capture the double. Arsenal won the Premier League and FA Cup with a stunning end to the season, clawing back Manchester United’s seemingly unassailable lead in the final weeks. Wenger had complete control of transfers and contacts at the London club, and in the next few years he turned them into one of the top forces in European football.

Arsenal won the league and cup double again in 2002, while 2004 was only the second time in English football that a team had done a full league season undefeated. That Invincibles Arsenal team set a record for the number of consecutive undefeated matches and went on to lose the 2006 Champions League final to Barcelona. Recently Raphael Varane pointed out that the EPL is more competitive than La Liga, and many analysts point to Wenger’s time as being crucial in the English game’s development.

He brought in a host of fantastic players during this period, with Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, and Freddie Ljungberg among the most fondly remembered. His talent in spotting young players who could go on to become stars earned Arsenal some huge transfer fees too. For example, Nicholas Anelka signed from PSG for £500,000 at the age of 17 and was eventually sold to Real Marid for over £22 million, with part of the proceeds used to build the Arsenal Training Centre complex.

His Legacy

His time at Arsenal fizzled out, as the club’s move to the Emirates Stadium meant that they had to be careful not to spend a lot of money on transfers, at a time when many other clubs were spending huge sums on their new players. However, despite ending his time at Arsenal with a run of trophyless seasons. Arsène Wenger is still considered one of the EPL’s most iconic managers.

His drive for perfection and his desire to make football entertaining are credited with changing the general outlook of football coaches in England. Teams became more attacking and there was greater emphasis placed on off-field issues such as good daily habits and better nutrition thanks to his influence.

Since leaving Arsenal in 2018, Arsène Wenger has been acting as the head of Global Football Development for governing body FIFA. This is a role where he oversees the growth and development of the game around the world. His position as a highly respected football expert is also seen in the fact that he is often a senior figure on Football and Technical Advisory Panels charged with looking at the sport’s key issues and rule changes.

Arsène Wenger’s final few years at Arsenal were marred by a lack of trophies and unrest among fans who were used to seeing him deliver winning teams. However, his outstanding record in his early seasons here and the profound effect he had on the EPL mean that he is rightly regarded as one of the sport’s best-ever managers and a worthy inductee to the Hall of Fame.