499.... and counting. Wenger nears an historic milestone

I was listening to the radio the other night, and I heard that Arsenal's titanic clash with Chelsea on Sunday will be Arsene Wenger's 500th match in charge at Arsenal. I was immediately astonished and bewildered that the Japanese speaking Frenchman had been around that long!

If every picture tells a story, it is perhaps fitting that the picture on the left hand side has nearly 500 wrinkles to match the predictable stress and strain that would naturally accompany 500 games in charage. There are therefore some questions to be answered after his unprecedented reign at the Gunners. How far has he taken Arsenal? When/where, if ever, did he go wrong? And finally, what does the future hold for the modern version of Arsenal in a new blockbuster 60,000 seater stadium?

Without question, no human being can argue that Wenger has transformed Arsenal into a neo-futuristic modern club brimming with over sea's talent. Wenger had work to do when he arrived at Arsenal all those years ago in 1996. He has a defence that was only just beginning to age, a superstar striker in the form of Ian Wright, and one of England greatest disappointments Paul Merson in midfield. Wenger clearly did not feel that the English contingent at Highbury was the way to go, although he did not eradicate the spine of Bruce Rioch's Arsenal immediately, instead he slowly bedded in a new team with an international flair. Throughout the mid to late 90's, Wenger brought in unknown superstars such as Patrick Vieira, Marc Overmars, Nicolas Anelka, and Emaneul Petit. Wenger stuck with England's infamous old guard, which only conceded 17 goals in the 98-99 season and truly that is year that certain back four of Seaman, Adams, Keown and Dixon and Winterburn reached their peak. During that spell, Arsene worked his magic and Arsenal won the League and Cup double in 97/98, wrestling the power away from Old Trafford to infuriate a seemingly impregnable Alex Ferguson and his gutsy Man Utd side. One of Arsenal's best ever performances came in the 1-0 win at Old Trafford in 98 when Overmars struck to swing the pendulum in Arsenal's direction, helping them clinch the title later that year with a virtuoso 4-0 demolition of Everton in which Tony Adams struck his picture book left foot volley to round off the scoring.

Although Utd went on to dominate the late 90's and early 2000's, Wenger was not quite done polishing his Arsenal side. I for one believe the sale of Anelka set Arsenal back slightly in their quest for Silverware, but in 1999 an unknown Thierry Henry arrived from Juventus. It had been Wenger's plan and dream to partner the two Frenchmen, but that plan failed when Anelka left for a whopping 20 million pounds to Real Madrid in 1999. Had Wenger partnered the two, only the football gods themselves may know where Arsenal could have gone (Henry is 27, and Anelka is still only 26).

But during the 99-2001 period, Arsenal fans endured some horrific results and performances (and worst of all, no real silverware) from an Arsenal team undergoing a significant transformation. One such result was the disappointment at Bradford City in 2000 when they lost 2-1 to the Bantams. I remember listening the five live in the car and I was totally ashamed. Another Arsenal performance to toss in the "I don't remember that" category was Arsenal's 4-0 whopping at Liverpool in the same year. But none of those annihilation's come close to matching the look on Wenger's pale shell shocked visage after the 6-1 mauling at Old Trafford. In that particular fixture, Arsenal had beaten Man Utd at home earlier in the campaign, but Dwight Yorke ran a merry dance around Arsenal's excuse for a defence that day and completed an easy Hat-trick. And to round of Arsenal's most heart-breaking season, in may 2001, Arsenal dominated a rejuvenated Liverpool side in the FA Cup final, but lost 2-1 to a late brace from Michael Owen. Ces't La Vie?

Obviously, there have been numerous European disappointments, everyone seems to have forgotten Wenger has taken Arsenal to a European final, where they narrowly lost to Galatasary 0-0 on penalties in 2000. Despite the obvious frustration in defeat, in that year, Arsenal finished the season with the most credit out of any English club after being the last one standing in Europe. But worse was to follow. Who can forget John Carew's vendetta against the Gunners, twice in two years he struck late on to dump Arsenal out of the competition in 2001 and 2003? But none of those setbacks on foreign soil came close to matching Arsenal's disappointment after the thrashing at Man Utd. It's hard to believe, but back then, Arsenal could not get consistent results away from home. That next summer, in 2001, Wenger took a big bite into the transfer market, spending over 25 million pounds on players like Jeffers, Van Bronckhorst, Campbell, Richard Wright, and Junichi Inamoto.The sudden influx of players brought in at Highbury that summer most probably sent a message to Arsenal's so called big performers that better performances are needed... or else. There was more competition for places. Furthermore, players like Adams, Dixon, and Winterburn were slowly beginning to be replaced by the likes of Laruen, Ashley Cole, and Sol Campbell respectively. Whatever the case, Arsenal wrestled the title away from Mancheser United, won the League and Cup double, and went unbeaten away from home in the Premiership. Ironically, they clinched the title at Old Trafford, winning 1-0 with a Sylvan Wiltord goal, the same ground where just one season ago everyone had said that Arsenal would never catch United in the new decade after being beaten 6-1! Incredible.

That is something Wenger did right, he corrected Arsenal's poor away form and matched it with their performances at home, it won them the title. And although more disappointments followed, both in Europe and in the domestic front (In 2003 when Arsenal surrendered a 5 point lead to Man utd) Arsenal went unbeaten in the 2003-2004 season in the Premiership, and were labeled the invincibles!

Having said that, I would definitely say that Arsenal have been a success under Wenger's helm. The only real blemish on Wenger's record has been trying to get Arsenal to seriously compete in Europe. I mentioned the loss to Galatasary in 2000, many people seem to have forgotten that successfull voyage by Wenger's men - in truth it was a game that could have gone either way- and perhaps the result justified Wenger's euro hell that has seen the club only make 2 quarter final appearances in the Champions League in his 9 years in charge come the end of this season. Naturally, Wenger has always hinted that Arsenal's inability to compete financially with the Euro super giants has been the contributing factor to their demise in the competition, but with a new 60,000 seater stadium on the way that can no longer be an excuse. It is time for Arsenal to get their act together in Europe.

On the financial side, it is interesting that Wenger has hinted that he prefers to sign so called nobodies and turn them into the best. People forget that Wenger has recouped enormous sums of money with the sales of Anelka, Overams/Petit, and Vieira. Those players came at a fraction of a cost and were sold for roughly a 65 million pound profit. Goes to show that a PHD in economics can go along way in the modern transfer market. Although that statistic is incredible, if you asked him privately, Arsenal's manager would bite Roman Abramovich's hand off for an "entree" of Chelsea's financial power and transfer budget.

I would simply say that the new stadium is a reward for Arsenal's recent success throughout the late 90's and early 2000's, and it is a stepping stone in establishing Arsenal with the Euro giants they deserve to be associated with. Their immediate future looks bright too, with youngsters like Fabregas, Flamini, and Van Persie coming through, and they will surly fill a section of the void left by their former captain Vieira. Can Arsenal beat Chelsea on Sunday? The last time the Gunners were approaching a feat of this magnitude was this time last season when they went to Old Trafford, nearing 50 league games unbeaten. On that occasion Arsenal were bowled out for 49, let us hope this time around Wenger sees this particular milestone as too personal not to accomplish, and satisfy Arsenal's needs with a victory to seal 500 games in charge in style.