At first the Gunners’ new arrival from Japan was known as Arsène Who. But not for long
I was there right at the beginning of Arsène Wenger’s extraordinary 22-year reign at Arsenal FC. Twenty-two years when the average time in charge of a Premier League manager has become less than 22 months. At the old Highbury stadium I was recording a history of Arsenal for a VHS, if you can remember what they were.
Late in the day I was given an extra bit of script to tack on to the end. Arsenal were struggling. The successful George Graham era had come to an unhappy end with allegations of financial shenanigans. Graham’s replacement, Bruce Rioch, hadn’t quite cut the mustard. So, looking forward I was to link to a new appointment – a Frenchman currently working in Japan. French? Japan! The insular world of English football was flabbergasted. So Arsène Wenger was known at first as Arsène Who. But not for long.
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