Sir Alex Ferguson is widely regarded as the most successful manager in the history of English football, but when it comes to spotting young talent and having an eye for a bargain there is only one manager in the frame as far as I’m concerned – Arsene Wenger.
Earlier this season, Wenger became
Arsenal’s longest-serving manager, but who are his best signings in 13 years at the club? Here’s my top five – with five more to follow...
1. THIERRY HENRY - Signed for £10 million, sold for £16 million.
Some eyebrows were raised when Wenger paid £10 million for a young French winger called Thierry Henry, who at the time couldn’t nail down a regular place in the Juventus first team. A player with electric pace and an elegant style,
Henry was converted to a striker and enjoyed eight hugely successful years at the club, winning the Premier League Golden Boot three times and the PFA Players’ Player of the Year in successive years in 2003 and 2004.
2. PATRICK VIEIRA - Signed for £3.5 million, sold for £18 million.
Wenger’s first signing and undoubtedly one of his best. Wenger knew that if he was to break Manchester United dominance he needed a combative midfield general who could mix it with the likes of Roy Keane – and Vieira was that man.
A tall, rangy player with a great engine and football brain, the French international helped the Gunners to three Premiership titles.
3. CESC FABREGAS - Signed on free transfer.
If Kaka is worth £55 million and Ronaldo £80 million, then how much could Arsenal demand for
Cesc Fabregas - bearing in mind he cost them nothing when he was brought to Arsenal from Barcelona as a 16-year-old in 2003?
Blessed with superb talent and wonderful technique, Wenger has nurtured the Spanish international into one of the best midfield players in the world.
4. NICOLAS ANELKA - Signed for £500,000, sold for £23 million.
Perhaps Wenger’s best ever signing in terms of profit making after capturing the teenager from Paris Saint Germain for just £500,000 and selling him to Real Madrid for £23 million just two seasons later. Anelka’s goals were crucial in the 1998 Double-winning side.
5. MARC OVERMARS - Signed for £5.5 million, sold for £25 million.
Known as ‘roadrunner” because of his electric pace, the Dutchman arrived at Arsenal from Ajax in 1997 and quickly established himself as a crowd favourite at Highbury.
His remarkable change of pace had full backs scratching their heads and, like Anelka, he was a major player in the 1998 Double-winning squad. Sold to Barcelona in 2000 for almost five times what Wenger paid for him.
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