As Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger serves his 4 match ban, we look back at some rather odd incidents in his career. Wenger is currently the longest-serving manager in the league but with great time comes some rather unique headlines. We look at some of the eyeball-grabbing incidents from his managerial career.
 Good Mornnnnniiiiing Teaaaacherrrrr:
If luck had decided to intervene then Arsenal would have seen Johan Cruyff as their new boss. After the sacking of then boss Bruce Rioch. But the club decided to go with David Dein’s proposal and sign Arsene Wenger. But that didn’t go down well with the players. Most of them were visibly amused and some even claimed that he looked more like a geography teacher.
Picture by Laia.
Turning down Real Madrid:
Wenger famously turned down Real Madrid in 2008 saying that he had a pact with his young players at Arsenal. But somehow the players didn’t share the same feelings. Soon after this incident, a flurry of talents left the club to join many an arch rivals and also winning a lot of silverware. Fabregas, Van Persie are a few people who moved on.
Wenger’s so-called fashion blunder:
Football is all about, well, football. But then, the other incidents might sometimes be equally amusing. The year was 2010 or 2011 and Arsene came out for a particular match wearing some kind of a jacket which looked more like a sleeping bag, to be honest. And suddenly the internet was flooded with memes and trolls about Wenger’s new fashion sense. The jacket became so popular that it made it to the New York Times’ list of fashion mistakes. Talk about impact.
Take a quid for Suarez:
Well, this incident happened when Liverpool were preparing to sell their Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. Allegedly Arsenal had made a bid of 40 million pounds but it was rejected by Liverpool stating that they want more money. Wenger decided to offer a fresh bid, and this time offering 40 million plus a quid for the striker. Wenger thought it would be funny and everyone would take it in good spirits. But the plan heavily backfired and angered a lot of people. Since then everything had calmed down but every now and then people bring up this incident, particularly when Suarez has a good game at Barcelona.
The famous Pizzagate:
No footballing fan will be unaware of the famous pizzagate incident that took place at Old Trafford. Well allegedly, an Arsenal player threw a slice of pizza at then United boss Ferguson. But apparently, the whole incident started when Wenger decided to confront Ruud Van Nistelrooy after the match and Ferguson intervened to guard his player. There are many different versions of this famous incident but the above one is the most circulated.
Picture by Austin Osuide
Special Friend Jose:
There are many footballing rivalries that have stood the test of time. But the rivalry between Wenger and Mourinho requires a special mention. Their rivalry has seen everything. From Mourinho calling Wenger a specialist in failure to Wenger pushing off Jose at the touchline. Even though the battle has been a bit subdued in recent times but you can count on Jose to do something unexpected.
Picture by Aleksandr Osipov
Note: The images used in this article is taken from the Wikipedia Commons Library which is licensed under Creative Commons. The author of the pictures have been duly credited in the captions and the author of the featured image is Gordon Flood.
