Wenger Out: The end of an era

The Frenchman took charge of the club back on October 1 1996 and went on to build something of a dynasty.

At the time of his resignation, Wenger is the longest-serving manager in the Premier League and has taken charge of 823 games in the English top flight, more than any other boss.

However, it is impossible to understate Wenger's influence on English football. 

When the Frenchman moved to Arsenal, he became only the third foreign manager to take control of a Premier League team, whilst his background in economics and relative lack of experience as a player put him at odds with what was traditionally expected from a boss.

Simply put, little was known about the bespectacled boss, even by the Arsenal players themselves. "When he first arrived, we didn't know too much about him and one or two of the boys were asking 'Who is this French guy?'" admits former 'Gunners' striker Ian Wright.

- Innovation - 

Drinking cultures remained prevalent at Premier League football clubs in the 90s, but Wenger quickly set about dismantling the dressing room cliques and implementing a new era of sports science.

His innovative changes, which included everything from what the players ate to doing away with tradition fitness work and introducing more ball work in training quickly gained him the nickname "the professor".

"I recall Tony Adams and myself, in our first Wenger pre-season, going to see the boss just before the start of the campaign," Lee Dixon wrote back in 2003. "Our feeling was that we had not done enough running. We were concerned that the team wouldn't be fit enough. The manager calmly explained to us that it was all scientific and that the team would be fine. 'Have faith,' he said. Sure enough, 10 days later we flew out of the blocks all full of energy and raring to go. That man knows what he's talking about."