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Having served Arsenal for 22 years, Arsene Wenger is leaving the club at the end of this season. While many may argue that he should have bowed out earlier, there is no doubt that he achieved a great deal for the club.
1. Double of 2002
Wenger became the first foreign manager to win the double in England. Despite poor performances initially, his team showed great improvement in the latter part of the season in 1998 to win both the league title and the FA Cup. He achieved the same feat in 2002 with a team that could boast of players like Thierry Henry and Robert Pires.
In 2002, the team showed a similar pattern. Their performance dipped in the initial part of the campaign and then they came back strongly to win in the end.
Interestingly, the fate of the PL title was decided at Old Trafford. This was the time when the rivalry between Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson was at its peak. The Gunners needed only a draw to win the title while for the Red Devils, a victory was a must.
In the end, Arsenal bested their rivals as Sylvain Wiltord scored the goal that proved decisive for the game. United even slipped from their second place as Liverpool defeated Blackburn Rovers.
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2. Invincibles
It was an unmatched feat for Arsene Wenger when his team went a whole season unbeaten in the Premier League. Wenger had claimed in the previous year that a team could go unbeaten the whole season and was mocked by experts and journalists for such a claim.
Yet just a year later, Wenger proved himself right by making an almost impossible record. His team during the 2003-04 season was the complete team who could challenge the best of the best; besides the best striker Thierry Henry, his team boasted such players as Vieira, Cole, Pires, and Bergkamp to destroy the opponents.
Arsene Wenger himself considers the Invincibles' record as his career's greatest achievement. It looks unlikely that any other PL team would be able to replicate that feat again in the present-day sports environment where staying in one league or club is no longer popular. Therefore, it would be virtually impossible to keep the big players in one club so as to be strong enough to level such a record.
3. Seven FA Cups
Arsene Wenger is the most successful manager in the FA Cup history; Counting the most recent 2017 FA Cup trophy, Wenger's number of trophies reaches seven. George Ramsey of Aston Villa is the second most successful manager, having won it six times.
The FA Cup competition is possibly the best platform for Wenger. Here, he has even outdone his fierce rival Sir Alex Ferguson, who won the competition five times. Thanks to his seven victories, Arsenal are leading as the best in the competition with 13 victories. Out of the last four seasons, Arsenal have won the FA Cup three times.
4. Remaining above Tottenham
Aside from the above, there is at least one achievement for which Gunners fans would be greatly thankful. In all the long years under Wenger, his team has always managed to finish above their arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, except for one season only. That season was the previous season when Arsenal finished on the fifth spot while Tottenham was sitting just behind the title winners Chelsea.
"It's happened again" is very popular among the Arsenal fans for this reason.
