The Arsene Wenger Era Part 4: Despite FA Cup success, Arsenal could barely match rivals' financial and technical might

“You can always discover new things in football. Every game is a new adventure. That’s why the excitement is the same,” perhaps the only thing which trumps Arsene Wenger’s love for Arsenal Football Club is his adulation for the beautiful game. And it is this childlike glee of the Frenchman which invigorated football fanatics and the sports media on the eve of Wenger’s 1000 game in charge of Arsenal. After all, in the post-Ferguson, ultra-modernist era of European football, Wenger was the only flagbearer of stability and constancy – the only sensible voice when it came to limitless expenditures in the transfer market. Amidst the din of Jose Mourinho’s harsh ‘specialist in failure’ jibe, Wenger set out to prove a point to his critics and the Portuguese manager who had disregarded him on every other occasion. Unfortunately, for the Gunners boss, his own team did not get the memo. As the Gunners fans geared up to celebrate, an inept Arsenal side were swept aside by the big, bad wolf Chelsea. It was this momentous occasion which many believe was the turning point for Wenger’s final years in North London. A match which should have solidified the broccoli-wielding, tactics-sprouting Professor’s legacy instead provided the ‘Wenger Out’ movement as its focal point. A one-of-a-kind supporters’ protest, especially in the context of English football, helmed by well-meaning Arsenal supporters frustrated at their club’s woes and striving for a figurehead to place their blame on, the ‘Wenger Out’ movement has gained traction as well as simmered down on occasions depending on Arsenal’s displays. [caption id=“attachment_4454997” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Arsene Wenger’s charges, unfortunately, did not possess the temperament necessary to draw blood at will. Art by Rajan Gaikwad[/caption] Just when it seemed Wenger’s time in North London was dwindling down to a sad conclusion, Arsenal triumphed over Hull City in the 2013-14 FA Cup final. After conceding twice in the first half, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla orchestrated an exhilarating comeback to seize the final in extra-time, providing Wenger with salvation after 3823 long days since he last lifted a trophy. With the drought firmly behind him, the Frenchman (who was yet to sign a new contract) lived to see another day. Arsenal would go on to defend their FA Cup title the next season, Wenger claiming three FA Cups in his last five seasons at Arsenal, also amassing two lesser consequential Community Shields in the process. For the man who was stuck in a trophy-less rut for close to a decade, Wenger will forever be remembered as the best manager the world’s oldest club competition has ever seen. Ever since that ill-fated trip to Stamford Bridge which put the gears in motion, Wenger’s trips to the Wembley Stadium – just 10 miles away – has resulted in galvanising wins for Arsenal. In 144 years of existence for the FA Cup, it is Wenger who has won it on the most number of occasions – seven times. Wenger might have watched helplessly as local rivals Chelsea wrested control of the Premier League in the past decade but he ensured Arsenal and its supporters could proudly hold on to certain bragging rights of their own.

The knives were still out for Wenger though as Arsenal could barely match up to the financial might and technical superiority of the Premier League title contenders. To claim that they did not have opportunities to punch above their weights would be untrue, for Arsenal were in the race for the 2015-16 Premiership title until into the business end of the season. Wenger’s charges, unfortunately, did not possess the temperament necessary to draw blood at will.

As Arsenal finished in the second position for the first time in a decade in the 2015-16 season, it was underdogs Leicester City who wrote themselves into the history book and not Arsene Wenger’s delicately nurtured players. Life had come a full circle for Wenger and not in a kind fashion – the club which could once rattle the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid off their perches was now simply too soft for their own good. Managing The Invincibles was a rare feat in itself, but what has added mystique to Arsene Wenger’s time at Arsenal over the years is that he never reclaimed the Premier League trophy ever again – a fact etched in reality, yet tragic of folklore-esque proportions. With Arsenal further dropping down the pecking order in the Premier League, failing to qualify for the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, Wenger’s legacy has only suffered mockery and ridicule off late, from the Gunners supporters and those of their rival clubs. His announcement of stepping down at the end of the season came as a relief to many after years of exasperation – the hopes of a new era quelling the melancholy that comes with the imminent departure of the Arsenal legend. Wenger’s last season at the club could probably end without any silverware, given they lose the Europa League clash against Atletico Madrid in the semi-final second leg on Friday – adhering to the trend of his managerial reign in England, but the Frenchman’s impact on the club and Premier League in general reaches far beyond his underwhelming haul of trophies. Today’s Premier League, the eyeball-grabbing, cash-flushed spectacle which it is, was envisioned by Wenger when he arrived in England in mid-1990s. His revolutionary changes in the manner in which professional footballers approached a game of the highest calibre are still followed to this day. The advent of scientific techniques in every aspect of football, from diet to fitness, from scouting lesser-known young players in foreign clubs to employing statistically inclined tactics to win games, was popularized by Wenger. “You either die a hero, or live long enough to become a villain” – the pop culture reference is synonymous to Wenger and his 22-year long reign at Arsenal in public opinion, for a change maybe fearsome but stagnation is lethal. Yet, in years to come, Wenger would be revered as the pioneer of change in English football and not the adamant manager who underachieved due to his utopian ideas about how the game should be played. Click here to read The Wenger Era Part 1: When an obscure foreigner revamped the order of English football _Click here to read The Arsene Wenger Era Part 2: From Invincibles to fourth-place trophy, how the Arsenal revolution lost its way_ Click here to read The Arsene Wenger Era Part 3: Chelsea take control of London as Arsenal fail to adapt to changing times