Premier League: Journalists pay tribute to outgoing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger by gifting him bottle of wine

English journalists have paid their tribute to departing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger by giving him a bottle of red wine during the post-match press conference with the gaffer following the club’s 5-0 rout of Burnley FC. Before presenting the wine bottle, John Cross from Mirror Football, who covered Arsenal for the past 20 years, gave a small speech on behalf of the journalists, praising Wenger for giving many memorable moments in his 22-year reign with the north London club.

Cross ended his speech by saying, “I know you know your red wine so I hope you will like it and even more so that it comes from 2004 so it will never be beaten.” The wine brand – Rauzan Segla – was bottled in 2004, the year when Wenger’s Arsenal became the ‘Invincibles’, not losing any Premier League game on their way to the title. In his speech, Cross also said, “We in English football owe you a huge debt of gratitude and I hope you appreciate within the tributes in the last couple of weeks there has been a genuine and very heartfelt affection towards you. There is no escaping there has been some criticism along the way but the fact you never hold a grudge or never dodge a question and are always respectful shows what a class act you are as both a human being and a football manager.” Wenger, on his behalf, thanked the journalists for the tribute and said it was a pleasure to working with the press, though he jokingly stated that now always things went the right way with journalists.