Wenger hails ‘goal of a lifetime’ for ruthless Robin

ARSENE WENGER’S Arsenal career has been peppered with “Where were you?” moments and on the occasion of his 10th anniversary in charge, it received its defining image.

The sight of Robin Van Persie leaping three feet to wrap his left foot around Emmanuel Eboue’s fizzed cross and the ball arcing in a perfect parabola past the flailing fingertips of Scott Carson will live long in the memory of all lucky enough to witness it.

It was an extraordinary moment of genius and yet the principles behind it — athleticism, pace and panache — were pure Wenger. They have been the cornerstones of each of the three great Arsenal sides he has built since 1996 and while Thierry Henry remains the personification of his manager’s philosophy, on Saturday the Frenchman hailed Van Persie.