Sunday, May 13, 2018

Arsène Wenger's All-Time Team

As Elton John might have written, if he were a fan of The Arsenal instead of Watford:

Goodbye, Professeur
though I never knew you at all.
You had the grace to hold yourself
while all your critics crawled.
Crawled out of the woodwork
and they wrote some things insane.
But you uplifted The Arsenal
and you made us sing your name.

Arsène's Wenger's All-Time Team

This is a list of players that he signed for Arsenal, not just players who played for him. So "the George Graham back five" of David Seaman, Lee Dixon, Tony Adams, Steve Bould or Martin Keown, and Nigel Winterburn is out. So is Dennis Bergkamp, signed by David Dein in the Bruce Rioch interregnum.

Nor does it include players he managed as AS Monaco from 1987 to 1994, despite having won France's Ligue 1 in 1988 and the Coupe de France in 1991.

Goalkeeper: Jens Lehmann, Germany, 2003-08. Backup: Wojciech Szczęsny, Poland, 2009-15.

Right Back: Lauren Etamé-Mayer (usually listed by just his first name, Lauren), Cameroon, 2000-06. Backup: Bacary Sagna, France, 2007-14.

Centerback: Sol Campbell, England, 2001-06.

Centerback: Laurent Koscielny, France, 2010-18. Backup: Kolo Touré, Ivory Coast, 2002-09.

Left Back: Ashley Cole, England, 1999-2006. Yes, I'm including him, despite his treachery. Backup: Nacho Monreal, Spain, 2013-18 (and possibly into the tenure of the next manager).

Right Wing: Freddie Ljungberg, Sweden, 1998-2007.

Central Midfield: Patrick Vieira, France, 1996-2005. Backup: Aaron Ramsey, Wales, 2008-18 (and probably into the tenure of the next manager).

Central Midfield: Mesut Özil, Germany, 2013-18 (and probably into the tenure of the next manager). Backup: Cesc Fàbregas, Spain, 2003-11. Yes, I'm including him, despite his treachery.

Left Wing: Robert Pirès, France, 2000-06.

Forward: Thierry Henry, France, 1999-2007. Backup: Robin van Persie, Netherlands, 2004-12. Yes, I'm including him, despite his treachery.

Forward: Olivier Giroud, France, 2012-18 (sold earlier this season).

Honorable Mention to Emmanuel Petit, who played for him at both Monaco and Arsenal, and was a teammate of Vieira and Henry when France won the 1998 World Cup.

Honorable Mention also to George Weah, who played for him at Monaco, and has been elected President of his homeland, Liberia. One of his Arsenal players, Nwankwo Kanu, has talked about running for President of Nigeria. It's almost a "Hold my beer... " situation. Both credit Wenger for much of their success.

So:

Lehmann
Lauren - Campbell - Koscielny - Cole
Ljungberg - Vieira - Özil - Pirès
Giroud - Henry

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