“Viva La Revolucion”- Che Wenger’s NEW Genius Style-Ten Years At Arsenal...

By Bilal Zaidi

Today is a special day for Arsenal Football Club, it is a day to remember, rejoice and look forward to the wonderful world of Wengerball. Ten years…that we have been lucky enough to be gifted the best manager in the world at our club. A professor of the game, an ambassador for the greatest club in London and a truly unique individual is what Arsene Wenger is.

Apologies for the lack of posts but I am in the middle of moving houses which for anyone who has experienced it, is quite stressful indeed. Since the last time I wrote we beat Utd, then the other Utd (Sheffield) and two days ago beat a very decent Porto side by two goals to nil. Why have I taken out time of my hectic moving schedule to write some words on Arsene Wenger, but not for those other very happy occasions? The answer is simple, it is out of respect and honour for the man who has been the leader of a footballing club that gives me something to smile about on a Saturday afternoon…his ten years in charge have been phenomenal and it is his attacking philosophy that makes our club so special from others.

He came ten years ago to noises of “who is he!?”…and boy did he prove himself. Within his first full season at Arsenal he won the double, a few years later he did the double once again with the team of Pires, Vieira and Henry. Then two seasons later his most impressive feat (in my own opinion) was the creation of a team that lost ZERO games in a 38 game premiership season. This done with his philosophy of scoring goals, attacking until the very end and playing the beautiful game in a deserved beautiful manner. No other team has every achieved this and probably never will, the “invincible” season will never be forgotten and is part of a ten year period that has revolutionised the game of football.

Taking his young side into last years champions league, with a less than average league season…Wenger took us to the champions league final, where we OUT PLAYED most teams that we came up against. Not even Barcelona the winners outplayed everyone, in fact without being biased…with only 10 men for majority of the match we had as many clear cut opportunities, if not more, than Barcelona…My point being, that without spending vast amounts of money on “well known” players, that often are already moulded into the player that they want to be…Wenger picks up players from all over the globe and turns them into superstars…none more so than we are witnessing now, with the youngest side we have seen under Wenger. After a couple of seasons now where teams have sat back and packed their own half with 9 or 10 players, and often (none more so than last year) getting a point or three by frustrating us…we have seen in the last three games that Wenger is once again revolutionising how the game should be played. This is his fourth great team in the making and now seeing that we are actually CROSSING the ball and using the width, playing with three playmakers in Rosicky, Fabregas and Hleb…we are seeing an attacking way of playing different from ones in the past.

I have no doubt that this team will grow and mature faster than most expect…as long as Wenger is there I have full faith in paying £60 to go and see Arsenal vs. Liverpool at the Emirates…because Wenger is the architect that gives me the best quality for money when watching a football match…he will continue to surpass his fellow coaches and is a legend in the game of football ALREADY…a revolutionary…Che Wenger’s NET spending in TEN YEARS has been £50 million…THAT IS AN AVERAGE OF £5million a year. Converting players like Petit from centre back to a fine left footed central midfielder, Henry from winger into the most prolific and productive attacking player in the world, brother Toure from…well…every position on the pitch apart from keeper to an awesome centre half who is already now one of the best in Europe, one who is under-rated on the world stage, but is known to Wenger as one of the best signings he has ever made…Lauren from midfielder to a solid and efficient full back…Ljungberg from a unknown Swedish winger to one who scored goals for fun and so on…Anelka, Overmars etc etc….

He has now picked up Eboue, Senderos, Fabregas, Van Persie, Adebayor, Walcott, Djourou and kept faith in young Hoyte (who was quite terrific on Wednesday)…as the youth that are pushing this energetic side closer and closer to being his fourth great team. All this combining with the already brilliant Henry, Rosicky, Gallas, Hleb, Lehmann, Toure etc etc…then it is quite clear that we have the means to have a very good season, one that will be better than last season…as we are already winning games that we would have drawn and lost last season…Have faith gooners and be grateful to a man who has sold his soul for Arsenal Football Club, who has taken us into this new era of the Emirates…with his vision and drive we will see it through to being one of the most dominant sides in world football. Hats off to you Mr. Wenger…you are a true legend and let the Emirates stand in testament of your achievements in modern history.