London [UK], July 28 : Arsenal Football Club announced on Friday that a statue of its legendary manager Arsene Wenger has been unveiled at the club's home arena, Emirates Stadium to honour and celebrate his contribution to the club.
"Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that a statue of our former manager Arsene Wenger has been unveiled at Emirates Stadium to commemorate Arsène’s truly remarkable contribution to our football club," said a statement from the club.
Wenger was with the club as manager from October 1996 to May 2018, leading them to three Premier League titles, which included an unbeaten season in 2003-04, seven FA Cup titles and 20 successive years at the UEFA Champions League, the top European Football tournament.
"During Arsene’s 22 years at the club, he was manager of our men’s first team for an incredible 1,235 matches and led us through the most successful period in our history, transforming our identity with his vision for how the game was played, and has been identified to have created the ‘modern Arsenal’," added the statement from the club.
Just a few months after his appointment in the 1997/98 season, he became the first-ever non-British manager to win the Premier League title with the club and followed it with an FA Cup triumph that season.
Two more PL titles came in 2001-02 and 2003-04. The latter is considered one of the biggest achievements in club football, in which Arsenal went unbeaten in its 38 matches, winning 26 and drawing 12. He is also the most successful manager in the history of the FA Cup with wins in years 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
"But Arsene’s impact with us goes far beyond the pitch. He was instrumental in the design and building of our London Colney training centre, which opened its doors in October 1999, and also played a key role in many of the design elements in our move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium in 2006," added the stadium.
The bronze statue, created by award-winning sculptor Jim Guy, is 3.5 metres high and weighs approximately half a tonne. It depicts Wenger lifting the Premier League trophy.
Tim Lewis, the club's Executive Vice Chair, said: "We are delighted to recognise and celebrate Arsene Wenger's outstanding leadership and career at Arsenal Football Club. Arsene’s contribution to, and achievements with, the club mark him out as the club's greatest manager. He treated the club and its supporters to many trophies and fantastic memories and brought a revolution in the running of the club, an unbeaten season and the move to Emirates Stadium."
"It is fitting, therefore, that as a mark of the club's enduring respect and gratitude a magnificent statue of Arsene now stands outside Emirates Stadium. It is a place where our supporters and all who visit Emirates Stadium can be reminded of Arsene's contribution and his legacy," he added.
The club's current manager Mikel Arteta added: "It is such a great tribute that the club has done something special for Arsene that he fully deserves and merits. With a statue now at the stadium, Arsène can have that recognition and be here at our club forever."
"I am so grateful to have played for Arsene at this club in my career. He chose me to be one of his players and selected me to be the captain of the club and that is something I will never forget," he added.
Arsene will be the guest of honour for the Emirates Cup match against AS Monaco on Wednesday, August 2.
The honouring of Arsene sees him join other five players who have a statue around the Emirates Stadium: Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Herbert Chapman, Ken Friar and Thierry Henry, to mark the contributions of key figures in the club’s history.
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