"One day I would like to look from paradise and see the club's progress". Arsene Wenger said this in a recent interview when asked about how it will be when he leaves Arsenal. 20 years from "Arsene who " to "Arsene knows"; from "In Arsene we trust" to "Wenger out", the Arsenal boss has seen it all, so he must have envisaged how it would be when that day eventually comes. Or has he? 

September 1996, Arsene Wenger of Monaco and Nagoya Grampus was announced as the Arsenal manager. A man who believed in the Japanese culture and their dietary habits, enters the drinking culture elitist yet mid-table club, Arsenal. A rock-solid defence and a free-scoring striker apart, the club, on the whole, was one which flattered to deceive. Arsene realized what the club needed was a disciplinarian than a coach. The way he set it was quite brilliant. "You can play provided you prove that you are fit enough to do so” was his mantra. Ask any sportsmen, and they will say it is playing that matters, nothing else. Add in times with contract extensions and a better lifestyle, who would not embrace it. The Arsenal boys did so. Even the enfantterribles like Paul Merson, Tony Adams, toed the line. The results were amazing. A domestic double in the first full season meant Arsene had arrived in style. 20 years on, 3 league titles, 6 FA cups, 6 community shields later, opinions may be divided but the fact remains he has been extremely successful. Arsene Wenger is the most decorated Arsenal manager ever.

The article does not want to talk about what is known to most. It is more about little snippets of what makes the man so alluring, annoying yet absolutely respectable. Not you Mourinho, not you.

“At a young age winning is not the most important thing... the important thing is to develop creative and skilled players with good confidence”. This again can be held for or against him. The emergence of talents like Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey can all be attributed to him believing in them but conversely, there was a sense that Arsenal lost the league and maybe a couple of trophies during this period. Was he right or wrong is an argument for another day, but the belief and the ideology behind it cannot be doubted.

When you look at people who are successful, you will find that they aren't the people who are motivated, but have consistency in their motivation.

Arsene Wenger

This line again reiterates his belief in the players he had and how he tried to tell them that they are very good in what they do. This at times has backfired for some of the players never turned out to be as good as he believed but then the point is, for anyone if someone tells that I believe in you, it is the biggest morale booster.

Overly optimistic some may say, but Arsene never gives up. Even when playing Barcelona at the Nou camp and expected to turn around a 2-goal deficit, Wenger would believe. Can anyone forget the turnaround in the 1997-98 campaign when Arsenal was trailing united by 12 points, yet went on to win the league. This attitude can be held conversely against him as well. Realistically, some of the players were never as good as he deemed them to be or made the world believe. It is a part of a manager’s repertoire to build up the player psyche and Wenger does that infuriatingly well. “If I go into a season and I say, ‘For god’s sake, if we don’t win anything, they will all leave,’ I have already lost. The problem of the media is always to imagine the worst. The problem of the manager is always to imagine the best.” Sums it all up, doesn’t it?

“There was a debate about Wenger on Sky and how crazy is that? People are actually getting interviewed saying he shouldn't be doing this. What that man's done for English football is amazing and will be remembered in 25, 50, 100 years' time. Will those on telly yesterday be remembered for what they've achieved? None whatsoever," said Roy Keane. There is a saying that you realise the value of someone or something when they/it is not around. Arsenal fans have been pampered to an extent where they have taken everything for granted and now grumble saying oh is that all? Agreed top four is not a title but then try telling it to 16 other teams who do not qualify to the UCL every season and then you will realise that every season achieving it is no mean task. Even the style of football which has become synonymous is often taken for granted. At the start of this season, when Liverpool scored their 3rd goal, the commentator remarked, pool scored a typical Arsenal goal. The identity of the club has changed and for the better under Arsene Wenger. Arsene Wenger continues to build teams and “play football the Arsenal way “.