How did Arsene Wenger revolutionise football?

Arsene Wenger has announced he will officially step down from Arsenal at the end of the season. His departure will come after managing the club for 22 season and more than 1,200 matches. Wenger has not only been a fixture at Arsenal, but he completely changed the way Arsenal and many of the teams in the Premier League are managed today.

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So, how did Arsene Wenger revolutionise football?

One of the most important things Wenger did when he first arrived at Arsenal was to end outdated training methods. Everything had to be short, sharp and intense at Arsenal. Everything had to have purpose. Wenger used a stopwatch to time everything.

Wenger may not get enough credit for changing player diet, which has now caught on at clubs around the world. He banned his players from drinking alcohol. He also made sure players ate chicken and vegetables before matches instead of omelettes and British breakfasts. He even made sure players weren’t adding sugar and calories to their meals with sauces.

Wenger was the first foreign manager to successfully win the English Premier League. He accomplished the feat in 1998. The win influenced more English clubs to search out smart, tactically astute foreign coaches. At the time Wenger announced his departure from Arsenal, there were 12 non-British or Irish coaches managing Premier League teams. In 1996 when Wenger took over the Gunners, he was the only non-British or Irish manager.

Wenger’s style of play changed a club that had for years been called boring and stale. His free flowing football not only excited fans, but it influenced other clubs in England do find coaches who could do the same. Now, the style of play Wenger introduced is played by many sides in the Premier League and Europe.

The English game will greatly miss Wenger, but hopefully he will move on to coach at the international level. Or, perhaps he will become a sporting director, a role it seems he is more cut out for in 2018 than as a coach. Whatever role he takes, if takes one at all, Wenger will be remembered as a Frenchman who invaded football and changed it more than any other foreign born manager.