Arsene Wenger: The man who made me fall in love with football

Arsene Wenger will leave Arsenal at end of the season. As a 23-year-old football fan, there are few people who have had such an influence as him. He is the man who made me fall in love with football. So, merci, Arsene Wenger.

I am 23 years of age. I was born in 1994. Just over two years later, the world’s footballing landscape changed. For me, it meant very little at the time. I had no recognition of what football even was, nevermind the change that was about to come. But little did I know that Arsenal’s brave, almost wacky, decision to hire Arsene Wenger, the man the papers dubbed ‘Arsene Who?’ would not only change the life of football, but also change my life entirely.

I was born in Sheffield. My family is not from London — they are scattered around the country, from Nottingham to Liverpool; Newport to Sunderland. I have no real ties to the north London area; I have no real ties to Arsenal football club. Apart from one.

I was maybe three or four at the time. My eyes were just beginning to open to the wonderful world of football. But I didn’t really understand what was going on. I knew what a goal was, I think. But that was about it. And then I started talking to my dad about football fandom. Why do people support teams? Why are they so important to those people? How do people choose? What makes a particular team a team that people want to support?

My dad explained that people would pick a team to support, primarily based on their family or their location, two things that I would proceed to ignore, and then go to the games, cheer on that team, and hope that they would win as many games as possible. In my burgeoning mind at the time, the only thing I understood was that you got to choose a team and then cheer them on. And so, that’s exactly what I did.

Little did I know that the team that I would pick would be Arsenal. In fact, I actually said to my dad, ‘I’ll support the team in the red’, that is, the team that was on Match of the Day at the time. They scored goals, the only thing that I could really comprehend at the time, and they were the first team that I could see. So I did. I supported ‘The team in red’.

That team was Arsenal, managed by Arsene Wenger. It wasn’t until a little time later that I actually understood that it was Arsenal, managed by Arsene Wenger. But, nevertheless, that was where my fandom was born. If that was where it was born, however, it was in Wenger and his brilliance, that my fandom flourished.

The Arsenal teams of the late-90s and early-00s were the type of teams that could capture your imagination and let it fly. The pace, the power, the beauty of their play, the sumptuous goals that they scored, allied with that old British steel, that bite and fight, a resolve and resilience that is so often overlooked. And at the age of five and six, my imagination certainly did fly.

I was Thierry Henry when I scored a goal. I was Dennis Bergkamp when I did a bit of skill. I was Tony Adams when I made a towering header. I was David Seaman when I made a brilliant save. It was in these times that my love for Arsenal grew; it was in these times that my love for football, a game that I have loved, partook in, debated, and now work in, originated.

Football has been a crucial fabric of my life, both in my upbringing and now my adulthood. Arsenal, too, have always held a special place in my heart. Ask any football fan and they will tell you the exact same about their football club. There is a relentless, reckless, undying love for your football club and for your football. No matter what happens, no matter how many times you are angered by your club or by the sport, no matter who is in charge or what controversies and sadness take place, you will always love your football club and your football.

You see, for me, Arsene Wenger is much more than just the Arsenal manager. In fact, he is much more than just a manager, or even just a man. Like there is a special place in my heart for football and for my football club, there is also a special place for the person who made me fall in love with both.

I have never had the pleasure of meeting Wenger. There are few things in my life that I would rather do. But I wouldn’t actually have much to say to him. I wouldn’t question his later years, though many questions still preside. I wouldn’t ask him for stories. I wouldn’t search for details on players, past and present. I wouldn’t want him to regale of happier times at Highbury, of the Invincibles, of the double-winning teams, of the FA Cups, of the beauty of his football, of the brilliance of him and his players, of the unbridled, uncontainable, irreplaceable joy that his work gave to so many.

No, I wouldn’t do any of that. I would simply say ‘thank you’. Because Arsene Wenger is the man who made me fall in love with football, and that is all I would need to say. Merci, Arsene Wenger.