Arsene Wenger bows out with pure class

The sound of 55,000 plus supporters singing “there’s only one Arsene Wenger” in unison echoed throughout North London on Sunday. Wenger has been the target of a lot of vitriol and hate from a divided Arsenal fan base for several years now. So, it was great to see everyone united in support of the man that has given so much of himself to the club.

It was Wenger’s final home match as manager, and the man got the sendoff he deserved. There were no airplanes flying overhead with #WengerOut hashtags and no brawls in the stands from warring Gooners. The atmosphere was so positive that even the travelling Burnley fans got in on the Wenger lovefest.

It didn’t hurt the party atmosphere that Arsenal put in a tremendous team performance in easily dispatching Burnley 5-0.

Wenger’s final act showed that the man is nothing but class. If it had been me, I might have taken a swipe at the fickle fan base and said how bad I thought ArsenalFanTV was. Instead, the outgoing manager took the microphone and spoke from his heart.

He first wished a speedy recovery to fellow manager and longtime nemesis Alex Ferguson. Instead of talking about himself, Wenger spoke glowingly of the club, his players and the fans.

You could see some in the crowd dabbing their eyes when the Frenchman said, “Thank you for having me for so long, but I am like you, I am an Arsenal fan.”

He ended with the following statement, “I want to finish with one simple word, I will miss you (yes that’s four words but who really cares?) Thank you all for being such an important part of my life. Thank you all, well done, bye bye.”