The final bow was a grand sweeping gesture, with the kind of flourish that would not look out of place on a Broadway stage. Arsène Wenger emerged for his last Premier League act, strode through a guard of honour, made a right turn towards the corner of Arsenal fans and when he arrived in front of them he bent that lean frame in acknowledgement of one hell of a story.
Then he turned and skipped merrily back towards the dugout. Wenger is not renowned for his skipping. But everything feels different now. Fans who had not so long ago vocalised their discontent were eager to shower acclaim and gratitude. Wenger, who had been a picture of strain and stress until his leaving date was announced, looks as if the years have fallen from his face, the spring rejuvenating his step.
The warmth of these past few weeks, as Wenger has gone on his farewell Premier League tour, has been so generous he joked that he should leave Arsenal more often. “I should have announced every week I retire,” he said. “People are so nice since I said that.”
In time he will look back on the present from Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, the golden Invincibles trophy to take home from his last home game, a rendition of “one Arsène Wenger” from both Burnley and Leicester supporters, and here the Huddersfield faithful offered their own memento: in the 22nd minute of the match the entire crowd rose to give Wenger an uplifting standing ovation. The man who tends to watch his games sitting felt moved to stand up and wave his appreciation. The way various corners of the English game have volunteered to add their applause is recognition of a football man but also reflects the way Wenger influenced the game in this country.
A few yards down the sideline in the home dugout, David Wagner is adored in these parts for the renaissance he has inspired at Huddersfield Town. A foreign manager with big ideas, strong principles, and a willingess to throw himself into a new place and absorb its heart and soul – that idea is now strongly woven into the fabric of Premier League life.
Wenger opened that door in 1996 for all others from around the globe to follow. By winning the Premier League in his first full season he gave credibility to the notion that an overseas manager can flourish in what had been an insular football environment, just beginning to broaden horizons. It felt fitting, somehow, that Wenger would bid his final farewell at the place where Herbert Chapman’s managerial status was born. Wenger noticed a big photograph of English football’s first great moderniser outside the dressing room. “He smiled at me,” the Frenchman said. “Herbert Chapman, maybe our greatest manager, came from here. So for me to come here had a special meaning.”
Chapman, Arsenal’s original great innovator, built a team at Huddersfield which won the league three times in succession between 1924 and 1926 before moving to Highbury to repeat the feat in the early 1930s. He was a visionary of his time. A banner in the away end bore the message: “Thank you Herbert. Merci Arsène.”
Football’s relentless schedule means Wenger does not like to dwell on history while he is conditioned into thinking about the next game, but for once he could. “I am very proud having contributed a little bit,” he said. “I don’t know what will stay or remain through the victories or defeats. I think what will remain is the formidable human aspect of the last 22 years – that is special and I will cherish that. I had fantastic human experiences at the club, above the results, it was a human adventure.”
Exactly 1,235 matches ago Wenger picked an Arsenal team for the very first time. A side of nine Englishmen, one Welshman and a young Frenchman starting his third Premier League game by the name of Patrick Vieira, defeated Blackburn 2-0. Here at Huddersfield, Wenger’s final selection contained 11 different nationalities but signed off with an old-fashioned scoreline, the old George Graham favourite, one-nil to the Arsenal. Now, where did those 22 years go?
Wenger’s long goodbye has been cathartic, with all the bad vibes evaporating in the late-season sunshine. It has ensured the love affair, as he describes it, did not peter out, or end with any recrimination. It has allowed him, and the Arsenal fans, to remember why they fell for each other in the first place.
The bow was a impromptu show of emotion. “It was spontaneous,” Wenger said, “because I know that we’ve disappointed the away fans this season, that many of them they live the whole week and use their spare money to travel up to games. It’s part of the respect. We had disagreements which I accept but we had one thing in common: we loved Arsenal football club and I wanted to share that with them today.”
The final whistle blew and it was over. All it needed was a soundtrack by Edith Piaf. He returned down the tunnel, pausing to give a thumbs up as he went. Over, and finally, respectfully and beautifully, Wenger out.
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