Arsenal have unveiled a statue of legendary manager Arsene Wenger outside the Emirates Stadium to honour his remarkable 22 years as the club’s manager.
Wenger’s incredible 1,235 matches in charge spanned three decades and yielded an impressive 716 victories, including three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups – the most of any manager in the history of the competition.
The Frenchman is also the only manager in Premier League history to have led his team to an entire league season unbeaten – the extraordinary accomplishment coming in the 2004/05 campaign.
The 73-year-old was recently inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame and since stepping down in 2018, a statue to mark his achievements was always expected.
The statue itself has been carefully fixed into position outside the North Bank and sees Wenger holding aloft the Premier League trophy – something Mikel Arteta will be hoping to emulate with the current crop of Arsenal players.
Arteta, who captained Arsenal under Wenger, paid a glowing tribute to his former manager.
“It’s such a great tribute that the club has done something special for Arsene that he fully deserves and merits.
“With a statue now at the stadium, Arsene can have that recognition and be here at our club forever.
“I’m so grateful to have played for Arsene at this club in my career. He chose me to be one of his players and selected me to be the captain of the club and that’s something I will never forget.”
To mark the occasion, Wenger will be the club’s guest of honour for the Emirates Cup match against AS Monaco on August 2 and will visit the statue in the coming days.
