He wears glasses and looks more like a schoolteacher,’” Arsenal stalwart Tony Adams recalled thinking upon hearing the news that the Gunners had hired Arsene Wenger as their manager in 1996. “ ‘Does he even speak English properly?’ “One London newspaper was more succinct: “Arsene who?” read the headline. In just his second season, Arsenal would win the English football double — the Premier League crown and the FA Cup tournament title — for the first time since 1971, a feat that would be repeated four years later. Then, in 2003-04, Wenger orchestrated perhaps the greatest season in modern English soccer history: “The Invincibles” finished with 26 wins, 12 draws and zero losses, the first unbeaten league season since the sport’s infancy. The clamor for change finally won out, and on Friday the 68-year-old Wenger announced he will be stepping down at the end of the season after 22 seasons.

Source: thestar April 20, 2018 09:00 UTC