In his previous job he had just taken Bolton to the League Cup final and promotion, and to me his playing style always looked like that. It seemed very strange – a very un-Bruce Rioch signing, and so it was not surprising that on 12 August Rioch was dismissed.

7 August lost to Fiorentina 2-0 and Benfica 3-1 in two tournament friendlies played with different XI’sĪnd then on that day of that latest very disappointing pre-season result, 10 August 1996, The Daily Mirror reported that Arsenal were going to sign Patrick Vieira.

And that turned out to be difficult because when exactly did Arsène Wenger join Arsenal? Do you count the time he was appointed or the time he made his first transfer arrangements or the time he actually turned up and started being abused by the media? Let me explain…Īccording to the notes I have gathered as part of my work running the Arsenal History Society, Arsenal spent the pre-season in 1996 having a wretched time losing friendlies: Leicester away will thus stay in my mind as the last Wenger match I saw, and it led me to thinking about the first just to put the 22 years in perspective.

I’m not a diary keeper nor a programme collector so trying to recall it all comes from looking at the records and the old history books I’ve accumulated. It was a sad way to say a personal farewell to watching Arsenal coached by Arsène Wenger last night, but even so I’m glad I went to see just one more Wenger game and reflect back on 22 years of the Wenger teams I’ve watched.Īnd indeed to try and remember what it was like at the start.

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