Arsenal and Arsene Wenger: The departing dichotomy of feeling

Sunday marked the final home game as Arsenal manager for Arsene Wenger. And so we have this dichotomy of feeling: Hope for the future; respect of the past.

Sunday marked Arsene Wenger’s final home game for Arsenal. A weird yet excited feeling swept through the Emirates, a feeling of not knowing what to expect next season but also looking forward to what was to come. But for many newer fans, Arsenal and no Arsene does not exist.

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If you were born after 1996, like myself, you would never have seen another manager on the touchline. It is odd to have a club and manager merge into one, but for many, that is exactly what has happened.

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On the day, many fans were filled with emotion, you could see it on their faces. Others didn’t know how to feel, blank expressions filling their faces. I felt a tinge of sadness and almost a little happiness, mostly because of the send-off. It was a mixed, unusual, ambiguous atmosphere, one with regret, reverence, and hope.

Since the announcement that Wenger would be stepping down at the end of the season, I have been looking forward to the end. Wenger has led this club to greatness and beyond, but he needed to end his stay. It was nice that he could do it with such an emphatic win in his final home game. Fans and pundits alike have all weighed in on how to feel and how to handle this departure. Many fans are happy to see the back of him; others are sad and have been left heartbroken. There was a hope for the change was finally coming to the club, but it was tainted somewhat by the sadness at seeing such an influential figure leave such a historic club.

As a die-hard fan, I know the ups and downs of the club and I feel them on a daily basis. When the news came down that Wenger was stepping down at the end of the year, I almost didn’t believe it.

He is Mr Arsenal to me. My image of the whole organisation was thanks to him, whether it be good or bad. Many fans also think the same as me. They maybe want him to stay another year, break some more records, rediscover the brilliance of yesteryear. For a manager to stay that long and pull at the heartstrings of so many fans is very special.

But change and evolution must come. For me, and many other younger fans, it will be peculiar to see another man in the dugout. But that is what will happen and there is a degree of anticipation and excitement for it.

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And so we have this dichotomy of feeling: Hope for the future; a sad but grateful respect of the past. I guess, then, there is only one thing left to say: Merci, Arsene Wenger.