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Tribute to Arsène Wenger from Everything Barca

By Chiranjib Ghosh

BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 15: Arsene Wenger the Arsenal Manager checks out the pitch before the Arsenal Press Conference at Camp Nou on March 15, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MARCH 15: Arsene Wenger the Arsenal Manager checks out the pitch before the Arsenal Press Conference at Camp Nou on March 15, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) /
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Thank you, Arsène

LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: A fan poses with an Arsenal shirt, displaying text to thank Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 22: A fan poses with an Arsenal shirt, displaying text to thank Arsene Wenger, Manager of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on April 22, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

Arsène Wenger’s relationship with Barcelona has been diverse and dynamic, and it is expected to come to an end when he leaves Arsenal at the end of the season. This article is a celebration of that special sporting relationship between an individual and a club.

Wenger first clashed with Barcelona when he was head coach of Monaco in the 1993/94 season. In the group stage of the Champions League, the first match was held at the Camp Nou and finished 2-0 in favour of Johan Cruyff’s Barça ‘Dream Team’.

Monaco put up a fight in front of their home crowd at the Stade Louis II, but a Hristo Stoichkov goal allowed the Catalans to edge through and win the group ahead of Monaco, who came second.

Arsène Wenger again locked horns with Barcelona in the 1999-2000 season, with a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou. Luis Enrique, who is being touted as Wenger’s replacement at the Emirates, scored but his opener was canceled out by Nwankwo Kanu.

In the second match at Wembley, Louis van Gaal-led Barça thrashed Wenger’s Arsenal 4-2, with future Barcelona winger Marc Overmars scoring for the Gunners, along with Dutch legend Dennis Bergkamp.

But following the disastrous ending to Van Gaal’s tenure at the Camp Nou, and the short-term spells of Antonio de la Cruz and Radomir Antić, Wenger was linked with the vacancy at Barcelona and was offered a deal.

But the Frenchman rejected the offer, and this became the first in a line of rejections by Wenger, who went on to reject offers from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the future. Hence, Frank Rijkaard was appointed instead.

After Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ won the Premier League title unbeaten in 38 games, Arsenal were touted to be crowned champions of Europe in the following season. In fact, the wily Frenchman led the Gunners to the final, only to be stopped by Barcelona.

At the Stade de France in Paris, Arsenal experienced a hellish night in the Champions League final. Their goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann was sent off after 18 minutes for a lunging challenge on Samuel Eto’o. But they managed to grab the lead through a Sol Campbell header in the 37th minute.

But Barça equalised in the 76th minute, with Samuel Eto’o providing a clinical finish past Manuel Almunia. But the hearts of the Arsenal fans were broken when Juliano Belletti finished from a narrow angle after a pass by Henrik Larsson.

After this heartbreaking encounter, Arsène Wenger’s next standoff with Barcelona was after Pep Guardiola had won the treble in his debut season. This time, it was in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

In the first leg at the Emirates, Barça earned 2 away goals through a Zlatan Ibrahimović brace but couldn’t take the lead going into the second leg due to a Cesc Fàbregas penalty and a clinical finish by Theo Walcott.

But in the second leg, Barcelona dominated, thrashing Wenger’s side through a masterclass from Lionel Messi. The little maestro scored all 4 goals, after Arsenal had taken the lead in the 18th minute with a stunning strike from Nicklas Bendtner.

The very next season, Arsène Wenger again faced off against Pep Guardiola, this time, in the round of 16. And in the first leg, Wenger registered his first-ever victory against Barcelona in the Champions League.

But Barça came back from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-1 in the second leg at the Camp Nou, where the Gunners were reduced to 10 men after Robin van Persie had been sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

Next, Wenger matched up with Luis Enrique’s post-treble winning Barça side. The first leg in London ended 2-0, with Lionel Messi scoring a brace, while the second leg resulted in a 3-1 loss for the Gunners, with MSN scoring a goal apiece, and Mohamed Elneny scoring a banger from outside the box.

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And when Luis Enrique left the club after 3 years in charge, Wenger was again linked with the Barcelona job. But he again dismissed the rumours, reaffirming his loyalty to Arsenal and its supporters.

When he leaves Arsenal at the end of the season, he will have three choices : 1) To take up a job as national coach 2) To take up a role at a football governing body or 3) To take up a job as a manager in a high-paying league.

Sadly, none of these options involve him getting in a tussle with Barcelona. He might have lost most of his games against Barça, but it would be unfair to say that none of these games were competitive.

Arsène Wenger is a true legend of the game. He along, with Pep Guardiola and José Mourinho define club coaching in the 21st century version of football.

Next: Barcelona should retain Ernesto Valverde for next season

"“At the end of the day, I ask you: who is the most successful team in the world? Brazil. What do they play? Good football. Who won everything last year? Barcelona. What do they play? Lovely football. I am not against being pragmatic because to be pragmatic is to make a good pass, not a bad pass. It is as simple as that. When I see Barcelona, to me it is art.”-Arsène Wenger"