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28 September 2006, 03:47 PM
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congrats to the Prof
WENGER PROMISED JOB FOR LIFE
By Martyn Ziegler, PA Chief Sports Reporter
Arsene Wenger has been promised a job for life at Arsenal as he celebrates 10
years at the club.
Vice-chairman David Dein said today that, if the day comes when Wenger wants
to retire from management, he should be offered a seat on the board as a club
director.
Wenger arrived at Highbury on 28 September 1996 and, in his first full season
in charge, Arsenal won the first of two Doubles. In his decade at the helm, the
Gunners have won the Premiership three times, the FA Cup four times and reached
the finals of both the UEFA Cup and Champions League.
Dein said: ``The board took what at the time was seen as a bold decision to
appoint Arsene and it has paid off beyond our wildest dreams.
``It is not just the success he has brought to the club in terms of trophies,
but the style and the quality of the football.
``He was responsible for the new training ground and without the success we
have had, we couldn't have built the new stadium that now allows us to compete
with anybody in the world.
``We have said that if the day comes when he wants to retire, then there must
be a seat on the board for him, as we don't want to lose his talent, his
expertise, his knowledge and his judgment.''
Dein first met Wenger in 1989 when the Frenchman, then manager of Monaco, had
dropped in to Highbury to watch a match. Dein invited him out to a friend's
house for dinner and a close friendship between the two men began.
Six years later, after an unsuccessful season with Bruce Rioch at the helm,
the Arsenal board appointed Wenger.
``The headlines the next day all read `Arsene who?','' Dein added. ``But I
thought `Arsene for Arsenal' was written in the stars.
``It could not have worked out better. He is very honest with all the players,
he has terrific judgment, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of football, and we
hope he stays as our manager for another 10 years.
``He has this magnificent ability of picking up unknown players and making
them into world-class internationals. He did that initially with players such as
Patrick Vieira, who was in the reserves at AC Milan, and is now doing the same
with a third generation of players.
``Then there is Thierry Henry, of course, who was about to be loaned out from
Juventus to Udinese when we signed him, and Arsene converted him from an
out-and-out winger into striker who has become one of the most-talented players
ever to have played for Arsenal.
``I think Arsene Wenger has not just been good for Arsenal, he has been good
for football.''
Dein is planning to have a celebratory meal with Wenger on Sunday but expects
the manager to spend the night of his 10th anniversary in the same way as he
spends most Thursday nights: watching a UEFA Cup match on television.
By Martyn Ziegler, PA Chief Sports Reporter
Arsene Wenger has been promised a job for life at Arsenal as he celebrates 10
years at the club.
Vice-chairman David Dein said today that, if the day comes when Wenger wants
to retire from management, he should be offered a seat on the board as a club
director.
Wenger arrived at Highbury on 28 September 1996 and, in his first full season
in charge, Arsenal won the first of two Doubles. In his decade at the helm, the
Gunners have won the Premiership three times, the FA Cup four times and reached
the finals of both the UEFA Cup and Champions League.
Dein said: ``The board took what at the time was seen as a bold decision to
appoint Arsene and it has paid off beyond our wildest dreams.
``It is not just the success he has brought to the club in terms of trophies,
but the style and the quality of the football.
``He was responsible for the new training ground and without the success we
have had, we couldn't have built the new stadium that now allows us to compete
with anybody in the world.
``We have said that if the day comes when he wants to retire, then there must
be a seat on the board for him, as we don't want to lose his talent, his
expertise, his knowledge and his judgment.''
Dein first met Wenger in 1989 when the Frenchman, then manager of Monaco, had
dropped in to Highbury to watch a match. Dein invited him out to a friend's
house for dinner and a close friendship between the two men began.
Six years later, after an unsuccessful season with Bruce Rioch at the helm,
the Arsenal board appointed Wenger.
``The headlines the next day all read `Arsene who?','' Dein added. ``But I
thought `Arsene for Arsenal' was written in the stars.
``It could not have worked out better. He is very honest with all the players,
he has terrific judgment, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of football, and we
hope he stays as our manager for another 10 years.
``He has this magnificent ability of picking up unknown players and making
them into world-class internationals. He did that initially with players such as
Patrick Vieira, who was in the reserves at AC Milan, and is now doing the same
with a third generation of players.
``Then there is Thierry Henry, of course, who was about to be loaned out from
Juventus to Udinese when we signed him, and Arsene converted him from an
out-and-out winger into striker who has become one of the most-talented players
ever to have played for Arsenal.
``I think Arsene Wenger has not just been good for Arsenal, he has been good
for football.''
Dein is planning to have a celebratory meal with Wenger on Sunday but expects
the manager to spend the night of his 10th anniversary in the same way as he
spends most Thursday nights: watching a UEFA Cup match on television.
One manager I admire
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