Arsene Wenger’s 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal may have been one of his most disappointing as they lost 6-0 to Chelsea, but he has had great successes.

Here we take a look at some of the ups and downs of Wenger’s career at Arsenal.

Wenger was appointed manager of Arsenal on 30 September 1996 and earned the nickname “The Professor” due to his highly thoughtful approach to the game.

Throughout his career at Arsenal, Wenger has religiously stuck to his principles and played football the way he believes it should be played.

In his first full season in charge, Arsenal won the League, beating second-place Manchester United, and the FA Cup, beating Newcastle 2–0 in the final to win the double.

Arsenal finished second in the table behind Manchester United for the next three seasons as the rivalry between the two clubs, managers (Wenger and Ferguson) and captains (Vierra and Keane) intensified.

During this period, Wenger made a number of signings, including Ljungberg, Henry, Pires and Wiltord, as he tried to build a team capable of winning La Liga and playing football in its own way.

The 2001–02 season proved to be one of Wenger’s most successful at the club and also saw the arrival of Sol Campbell on a free transfer from north London rivals Tottenham.

They comfortably won the League, scoring in every game, as they finished seven points clear of Liverpool and 10 points clear of rivals Manchester United. The title was won at Old Trafford, with Wiltord scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win, making league success all the sweeter for both Wenger and the club’s supporters.

They also won the FA Cup, defeating Chelsea 2-0 in the final, to claim the double for the second time in four years.

The 2002-03 season saw Manchester United regain the title by finishing five points clear of The Gunners, who had led the race for much of the season.
Wenger’s Arsenal retained the FA Cup, the first team to do so since Tottenham in 1982, by beating Southampton 1-0 in the final.

The 2003-04 campaign was arguably the best under Arsene Wenger’s management despite losing in the FA Cup and League Cup semi-finals and the Champions League quarter-finals.

The Premier League campaign saw Wenger’s side make history by becoming the first team to go unbeaten in a 38-game season and only the second to do so in the top flight (Preston being the first in 1888-89).

With a record of 26 wins and 12 draws, the team became known as “The Invincibles” and won the title finishing 11 points clear of second placed Chelsea.

Arsenal won their fourth FA Cup trophy under Arsene Wenger in the 2004-05 season, defeating Manchester United 6-5 on penalties in the final.

This victory came shortly before Arsene Wenger’s 500th game in charge of the club.

Wenger’s next 500 games have not proven as successful and the club failed to win any major trophies despite coming close on several occasions, most notably finishing runners-up to Barcelona in the Champions League final.

Kieran Gibbs’ red card in Wenger’s 1,000th game was Arsenal’s 101st under Wenger’s management, but arguably the costliest was Jens Lehmann’s in the Champions League final.

There are many pundits and fans who attribute the fact that Arsenal have not won a title in the last nine years to Wenger’s reluctance to compete on the transfer market and Arsenal’s inability to retain their best players.

Since the 2005 FA Cup victory, Arsenal have reluctantly sold Patrick Vierra, Ashley Cole, Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb, Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabreras, Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie and Alex Song.

With Arsenal now out of the 2013-14 title race after 1,000 games and nearly 18 years in charge, is it time for Arsenal to say thank you Mr Wenger, but we’d like a new manager to take things over from here?

Thank you for reading.

jane brooke

http://www.janesjerseys.co.uk/