Arsène Wenger's sporting legacy by numbers

As Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger turns 65 we look at the remarkable football management career of the man known as "Le Professor"

When Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, turns 65 on October 22, he will be in Brussels preparing the Gunners for their Champions League tie away to Anderlecht.

The Frenchman, nicknamed "Le Professor" as he holds a masters' degree in economics from Strasbourg University, has just about seen and done it all since embarking on his first steps into coaching at Nancy following what was, by his own admission, a modest playing career.

It has, of course, not all been plain sailing on the journey from Monaco to Nagoya in Japan, on to the marble halls of Highbury and the now infamous "Arsene Who?" headline which followed his appointment at Arsenal during the autumn of 1996.

Nevertheless, despite all of the many highs and, more recently, testing times, the desire for success continues to burn as fiercely as it ever did.
The Frenchman's legacy is already secure and recently he was honoured by a bronze bust alongside fellow legendary manager Herbert Chapman at the impressive 60,000-seater Emirates Stadium.
Wenger has guided Arsenal to three Premier League titles – including the famous Invincibles campaign of 2003-04 – along with the FA Cup five times, and also took his side to the 2006 Champions League final.
But he knows none of that success could have come without the unequivocal support from the boardroom, which has continued following the takeover by American tycoon Stan Kroenke.

"You need to go into clubs where they trust you and let you work. On that front I was very lucky," said Wenger, who has spurned advances from the likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris St Germain and even the England national team down the years.

"I have never had a day when I think I could live without football. I know one day it will happen, but you should not live every day knowing you are going to die – you live knowing that you want to live.

"You will know if you are not hungry enough any more, but other people will tell you if you are not good enough any more."

After 18 campaigns and counting, that discussion, you suspect, is still some way off yet.