My Life in Red and White: The Sunday Times Number One Bestselling Autobiography

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Wenger cynics and detractors will be quick to point out his stubbornness, his blinkeredness and his inflexibility, but fans will acknowledge Wenger’s qualities for what they are: determination, relentlessness and a single-minded pursuit of success.

If you could go back in time, what would be the one thing you would do differently at the 2006 Champions League final versus Barcelona [when Robert Pires was substituted after goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off and Arsenal lost 2-1]? Another area that is perhaps even clearer from the book than I already thought it was is how the Invincible Season was an extremely deliberate and very explicit target (and it was interesting to read this part only 5/6 games into the 2020-21 season when already every team in the Premiership has lost). I was expecting a move away from the traditional biographies of sport men who speakers of pivotal moments in their careers to a psychological rendition of his 22 years at the helm of Arsenal.The autobiography fell short on that front and more rambled through the obvious elements and people he knew and met. I don't think anyone going to read this ever thought Wenger would lift the lid and dish out some nastiness or air vendettas against people, but what I expected was more emotion.

I would say that the trend in the last 10 years has been mainly physical in the Premier League and in football in general. He addresses elements of his philosophy which were used by sceptics and his critics to turn his management style into a caricature at times. Asked what he did in life, he proposes that his answer will be that he tried everything within his power to win football matches.But I always say to the players, when you’re foreign somewhere, you of course want people to accept you, but as well you have to think: “If I am here, I have to give more than local people. It was not only about winning: of course, what created the popular image of Arsenal was the fact that we won the championships, but it was more than that. But that's who Wenger is, he is a gentleman throughout and thus that is reflected in his writings too.

He documents the restraints brought about by their decision to prioritize the building of a state-of-the-art stadium.The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice. On the other hand, maybe the closest [to that] was Cristiano Ronaldo, when he signed for Man United. That afternoon, Arsenal looked years away from being able to challenge Manchester United, the then perennial champions.