ARSENE WENGER arrived like a breath of fresh air at Arsenal and English football as a whole.
The instant he spoke to the players for the first time there was a sense that here was a man who did things differently to anyone else that had managed the club.
Just his voice alone oozed self-assurance and intelligence — a strong feeling that here was a man who was fully in control, a manager who wanted to guide you, not push or pull you.
A headmaster who used encouragement, not the cane, to try to get the best out of you. It was in total contrast to Bruce Rioch who had left not long before Wenger arrived.
And the players Wenger inherited felt ready for a change. We were all at the stage of our careers where we were looking to move on in a different direction and this unknown Frenchman clicked with us immediately.
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While Wenger could talk a squirrel down from the trees with that deep, slow, calming voice and mannerism, he had ideas that were bold, ahead of the time.
He sent me off for a training camp in the south of France, with the fitness guru Tiburce Darou. Darou got me doing stuff I’d never thought of, running in sand, playing football in sand, swimming, playing basketball.
It was like spending a week with Yoda.
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It was a test of course, a challenge. I was 32 when Wenger arrived but still hungry for glory. Wenger wanted proof.
I came back fitter and stronger than ever and, thanks to Wenger, I was still playing for England at 34 having left Arsenal and signed for West Ham.
But that voice of his plays a huge part in how he delivers the message to players.
His first official game in charge was at Blackburn Rovers in early October 1996.
History notes that I scored two goals in a 2-0 win. Afterwards in the dressing room he came up to me and said: “That was very clinical of you.”
Clinical! No one had ever said things like that. If you scored a goal or two it was always ‘nice one, Wrighty’. Never ‘that was very clinical’.
The way he said it gave it extra resonance. The way he said most things gave it more gravity although he was not stern. He genuinely cared for his players.
He was deeply concerned about Tony Adams, who was about to shock the world with revelations of alcoholism.
Wenger was and still is fascinated by football. He was a student of the game and now is a master. But equally he is interested in people.
Previous coaches were only worried about whether or not you were fit for Saturday — irrespective of what may be going on in your private life. Not him.
He has not lost sight of the human element in an increasingly ruthless industry.
Wenger has never once shouted in my company. He has never needed to. The tone of the voice and the way it’s said is enough to make everything perfectly clear about what’s required.
His legacy with me is that I still retain a terrific work ethic and think more about the things I eat and things I do.
I loved pies when he took over, I loved steaks. I ate for fuel and nothing else.
There were no miracle diets under Wenger, just less of the bad stuff, no sugar or salt and the same food, just cooked better.
He taught me that — although he’ll probably be furious to know I still love a curry.
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