Across the desk from a giant of the game

Arsene Wenger will still talk animatedly about almost any subject, but he has definitely grown more guarded and reserved, sometimes tetchy, in recent seasons, believes the man who once wrote his column for the club magazine.

This is not a dispassionate analysis of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger’s 999-game tenure. I reported on the day he was unveiled at Highbury in 1996 and I will be covering his 1000th match in charge at Chelsea today. Maybe we’re both in a rut? Either way Wenger has helped keep me in a living of sorts over the past 17 years, and though the Arsenal years have been kinder to him physically and financially, there is a great deal of personal admiration for a man who has helped transform the way football is regarded in England.

He is not beyond criticism and admits he has made mistakes along the way, but the facts clearly set him apart as Arsenal’s most successful and influential manager: the 11 trophies alone do that, but the new training ground and internationally-acclaimed stadium are achievements leaving a legacy long after we are both pushing up daisies.