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Home , David Dein, Dennis Bergkamp, Emmanuel Petit, Freddie Ljungberg, Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira

SPORTS SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2016 Four Arsene Wenger quotes

LONDON: AFP Sports picks out four Arsene Wenger 1888/89 to achieve that feat. more intelligent.” Wenger has had fiery relationships quotes as the Frenchman celebrates 20 years as “What’s really dreadful is the diet in Britain. The with primarily Jose Mourinho and and Arsenal manager this week: whole day you drink tea with milk and coffee with eschewed the tradition of having a drink with his “To remain unbeaten in a championship like the milk and cakes. If you had a fantasy world of what opposite after the match. Here he reacts furi- English championship now is really unbelievable. I you shouldn’t eat in sport, it’s what you eat here.” ously to Mourinho having remarked in 2005 that want to win the Champions League but, really, this is Not from the Marie Antoinette school of ‘let them eat Wenger was a ‘voyeur’ for constantly talking about more important. It is something amazing, something cake’ Wenger used to the healthier diet of , Chelsea. special. How can you do it?” A justifiably proud as where he coached before taking over at Arsenal, “A football team is like a beautiful woman. When punch Wenger after his ‘Invincibles’, including lashes out at British dietary habits you do not tell her, she forgets she is beautiful.” The French stars and , went “He’s out of order, disconnected with reality and aesthetic side of Wenger is never far from the surface through the 2003/04 season unbeat- disrespectful. When you give success to stupid peo- and here he reveals it again....some of his team talks en, only the second side after Preston North End in ple, it makes them more stupid sometimes and not must have been very interesting. — AFP

Wenger’s highs and lows at Arsenal

LONDON: Arsene Wenger celebrates 20 years as Arsenal man- ager this week. AFP Sports looks back at the high points and low moments from the Frenchman’s memorable reign:

HIGHS Double delight Nothing better encapsulated the Wenger revolution than the sight of committed but cumbersome defender reborn as a swashbuckling goalscorer when the Gunners clinched the Premier League title in 1998 with a 4-0 win over Everton before making it a double celebration with an FA Cup final triumph against Newcastle.

Cup kings A year after ’s late goals condemned Arsenal to a painful loss against Liverpool in the FA Cup final, Wenger returned to ’s to regain the trophy in 2002 thanks to goals from and . Four days later they beat United 2-0 at to complete Wenger’s second double in four years.

Italian job Although European silverware has eluded Wenger with Arsenal, his teams have still managed some fine flourishes in LONDON: This file photo taken on August 3, 1999 shows Arsenal’s new French striker Thierry Henry (L) holding up his the Champions League, including a sublime 5-1 win over Inter shirt with manager Arsene Wenger. — AFP Milan in 2003 as Thierry Henry and Robert Pires demolished the Italian giants at the .

Wenger 20 year anniversary Simply invincible In the most memorable chapter of Wenger’s Arsenal reign, the Gunners swept majestically through the entire 38-game underlines falling standards Premier League campaign without a single defeat in 2003-04. Henry was at his brilliant best, with Pires and Ljungberg play- LONDON: Arsene Wenger memorably England at the time and tabloid head- Golden period ing memorable supporting roles. announced his arrival as a revolutionary lines sneered “Arsene who?” while If pasta, grilled chicken and broccoli force in England by banning his players Wenger’s professorial looks were easy were the ingredients of Wenger’s recipe Drought ended from eating sweets, but the Arsenal man- fodder for doubting fans and some cyni- for success, he was just as ground-break- Arsenal were expected to secure Wenger’s first silverware ager’s reign has turned increasingly sour cal members of Arsenal’s old-school ing in the cutthroat world of the transfer for nine years in emphatic fashion when they faced Hull in the as he marks the 20th anniversary of his squad. market. Establishing a scouting network 2014 FA Cup final. Yet underdogs Hull were two goals ahead appointment. Arguably the most signifi- Given Wenger had no Premier League far superior to any of his rivals, Wenger after just eight minutes. Wenger’s reputation was salvaged as cant agent of change in the Premier experience and first came to Arsenal fused Arsenal’s battle-hardened defense got one back and equalized League era, the 66-year-old’s achieve- vice-chairman ’s attention not with an influx of astute cut-price sign- late on before won it in extra-time. ments in revitalizing both Arsenal and for his managerial acumen but for his skill ings. , Thierry Henry, Nicolas English football will rightly be celebrated at charades during a dinner party, it was Anelka and arrived as LOWS in this milestone week for the urbane a significant gamble by both parties to unknowns and left as superstars, while Giggs magic Frenchman. let the Frenchman loose on English foot- Wenger crucially managed to coax A moment of magic from gave Manchester Yet when Wenger makes the drive ball. It proved a masterstroke and, after extraordinary feats from Dutch forward United a 2-1 victory in one of the all-time great FA Cup semi- from his home in the exclusive north coming third in the Premier League in . finals. In the midst of a ferocious rivalry with United, it was London suburb of Totteridge to the Wenger’s first season, Arsenal never fin- During that golden period, Arsenal Arsenal who looked set to claim a famous win at in for Saturday’s clash ished outside the top two for the next won three Premier League titles and four 1999 after Dennis Bergkamp cancelled out ’s with Chelsea it would be understandable eight years. FA Cups with a smooth-passing style that opener and United’s saw red. But Bergkamp had a if he pondered how he finds himself in Overhauling Arsenal’s dietary and fit- raised standards in a league previously late penalty saved by and Giggs produced danger of being viewed with the same ness regimes and introducing sports sci- more enamored of brute force. In 2003- an astonishing extra-time winner. disdain that greeted his hiring two ence and data analysis with remarkable 04, Arsenal’s “Invincibles” went undefeat- decades ago. In an era when even the results, Wenger was feted as the most ed in the league and two years later they Deadly Owen most unglamorous Premier League club innovative manager of his generation. almost conquered Europe before nar- Wenger’s bid for a second FA Cup triumph was ruined by can use the riches from lucrative televi- “Nutrition was a big deal for Arsene. The rowly losing the Champions League final Michael Owen’s late heroics in the 2001 final in Cardiff. After sion contracts to lure high-profile foreign dietician had a slogan, ‘Chew to win’, against Barcelona. But Wenger’s success being denied a penalty when Stephane Henchoz handled on coaches and players, it’s hard to recall meaning he wanted us to chew our food was a double-edged sword as his peers the line from Thierry Henry, Freddie Ljungberg gave Arsenal just how insular the Premier League was for longer,” former Arsenal defender closed the gap by pilfering his philoso- the lead in the second half. But Owen equalised with eight when Wenger left Japan’s Nagoya Martin Keown said. “We started feeling phy at a time when Arsenal were bur- minutes remaining, then produced a superb solo strike three Grampus Eight to join Arsenal in 1996. superhuman during games, fitter and dened by the financial restrictions from minutes from the end. — AFP Few overseas stars plied their trade in stronger than ever.” their move to the Emirates. — AFP