Contributors: James McNicholas, David Ornstein, and Amy Lawrence
Arsene Wenger has returned to the Emirates Stadium for the first time since leaving as… Arsenal General Manager 2018.
Wenger, 73, is in the crowd watching Arsenal Premier League match vs West Ham United team On Boxing Day.
Wenger, who managed Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, had previously said he had no plans to watch his old side play.
But Mikel Arteta, the current manager last season, said he would like to welcome the French player back to north London.
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Arteta said: “Hopefully we can bring him closer because I think he’s going to have a great time just seeing the environment he can create around him when he’s in this place.
“It’s because of the respect, admiration and love that everyone at the club has for what he’s done and what he stands for as a person at this club.”
Wenger left Arsenal at the end of the 2017-18 season, ending his 22-year spell as manager.
He left the club a year before his last contract expired.
Since leaving Arsenal, he has worked with FIFA and is currently the governing body’s Head of Global Football Development.
Arsenal are currently flying high in the Premier League and could extend their lead at the top of the table to seven points with victory tonight.
Arsenal won FA cup under Arteta in 2020 but has yet to win a league title since Wenger left the club.
Wenger led Arsenal to domestic glory in 1997–98, 2001–02 and 2003–04. The third of those successes was the most famous, as Arsenal won the title without suffering a single defeat.
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(Photo: Getty Images)
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”