It’s now five years since he finally stepped down as the manager of Arsenal FC after two decades at the helm – an occasion marked by the recent unveiling of a statue outside the Emirates Stadium of a triumphant Arsene Wenger holding aloft the Premier League trophy. The occasion made me reflect on his tenure at the club and return to one particular aspect of the Frenchman who became such a high-profile character in England: was Wenger really an intellectual?
There is scant evidence of great intellect in any of his post-match utterances
He was certainly popularly portrayed as one. The sports writing fraternity was so invested in the idea that Wenger was a man of considerable depth that they nicknamed him ‘Le Professeur’. Match reports routinely linked him to other renowned thinkers: it became quite routine for these to mention his philosopher countryman, Jean-Paul Sartre, in connection with Wenger; Albert Camus, famously a goalkeeper as well as a tortured soul, ditto.
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