Arsene Wenger planted the seed to become Arsenal manager during a game of charades with the club’s vice-chairman David Dein seven years before he was appointed.
Wenger is a name which is now synonymous with Arsenal, having managed the club from 1996 to 2018. The Frenchman took charge of 1,228 matches, winning three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his spell in charge over 22 years.
He ushered the Gunners in the modern age of the Premier League – but he was not a well-known manager before arriving in north London. Wenger worked for Nancy and Monaco in his native France before going to Japan to manage Nagoya Grampus. Wenger was therefore somewhat of a left-field choice for the Arsenal job in August 1996 following the sacking of Bruce Rioch, but Dein had long known he was the man for the job.
