by the way it’s #WENGER20 #RETROSPECTIVE
Obviously the game’s passed him by at the very top level, probably in increasing increments each season since Van Persie left (honestly finishing third with that 11/12 squad is surely one of his most impressive achievements). He’s still a very good manager though, which quite a lot of people choose to forget.
Also just a really good all-round, even kinda inspirational human being, which is maybe hidden a bit to most because you only really get to see that side of him in print interviews and the more chilled out press conferences. Can be very interesting and oddly soothing just to listen to chat about general football stuff, although I can understand how it’d make people cringe who don’t like mixing stuff like football and philosophy. I’ll really miss having a manager like that, though, when he’s replaced (probably next season) by either a Pep-type - whose attacking football is driven by a desire to win but doesn’t really have any concern for placing football within a broader artistic or existentialist context - or one of the German middle-manager types like Tuchel and Klopp who’d massively bore me.
