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In May 1979, Arsenal won the most dramatic FA Cup final in history, beating Manchester United 3:2 in the dying seconds of the game. Later that same year, a 29-year old semi-professional called Arsène Wenger made his last appearance as a player, before turning his attention to coaching. Only time will tell which event was the more momentous in the history of Arsenal FC, but with each passing year the scales tip in favour of a quiet, thoughtful man from Alsace.
Wenger's arrival was greeted with a strange mixture of apprehension and disbelief: the Evening Standard's famous ‘Arsène Who?' headline summed things up perfectly. After three Premiership titles and four FA Cup victories, we know exactly what Wenger is capable of, but are we any closer to knowing who he is? As the title suggests, Wenger: The Making of a Legend tries to shed some light on this question. Rees concentrates on exploring the man through his one great obsession: football. From childhood in Alsace to fame in North London, Wenger's life is so closely entwined with the beautiful game that it is meaningless (perhaps impossible) to talk of one without the other.
Take that Alsatian heritage. Living on the French-German border seems to have given Wenger an appreciation of both cultures, and the ability to cherry-pick from two very different sporting styles. At Arsenal, he has successfully combined the supreme fitness and pre-meditated approach of the best German teams with the exuberance, flamboyance and sheer joy of the French national game. In the words of Enzo Scifo, he has ‘married efficiency to spectacle'. Nowhere is the idea of balance more evident than in his choice of Brazilian imports. As Rees points out, Silvinho, Edu and Gilberto certainly have individual flair, but they also play with a well-developed team mentality, unlike many of their compatriots.
Changing Arsenal's dogged style of play soon endeared Wenger to the Highbury faithful. But there was more to it than that. When you listened to Wenger, he made sense. You felt that he was telling the truth. Today, Arsenal without Arsène is almost unthinkable. Somehow, in a subtle, almost organic way, this pensive Frenchman has come to epitomise everything the club stands for.
And above all else, Arsenal stands for integrity - doing things the right way. Arsène is no different. During his time at AS Monaco, he relentlessly pursued the French league title despite a comparative lack of transfer funds. He pushed as hard as the rules would allow, unaware that his principal rivals, Olympique Marseilles, were routinely bribing opposition players to throw key games. Against all the odds, he won the Championship once, in 1988. But he was cheated, lock, stock and barrel, on at least two other occasions. He must have been incandescent when the scandal was finally revealed, yet his anger led only to a heightened sense of fair play. When he moved to Nagoya Grampus, the passionless formality of Japanese football was a disappointment, but Japanese society's deep-rooted sense of right and wrong came as a breath of fresh air. At Arsenal, Kanu's momentary lapse against Sheffield United led to a unique moment in FA Cup history: a victorious manager offering to replay a game because he felt it had been won unfairly.
Everywhere he looks, Rees digs up historical parallels of this kind. He also provides enough raw information for you to make connections of your own. Is it pure coincidence that Wenger is reluctant to give long-term contracts to players over 30, when his own playing career ended at the tail end of 29? Does the challenge of competing with the big-spenders (first Marseilles, then Manchester United, and now Chelsea) drive him to new heights? It's sobering to think that we may never have seen the likes of Henry, Vieira and Toure, if Wenger hadn't mastered the art of aiming big and spending small so early in his managerial career.
If you're a Gooner, these connections are important; not least because Wenger only makes it to the Marble Halls on page 199, two thirds of the way into the book. Almost inevitably, his time at Highbury is defined by Alex Ferguson. We are reminded of their more acrimonious exchanges, and Rees clearly enjoys contrasting Ferguson's wildly slashing claymore with Wenger's perfectly controlled épée. Ferguson attacks; Wenger smiles, parries and counters. (Repeat as necessary.)
Once Ferguson is dealt with, the book does close rather abruptly, almost as if Rees is saying ‘There! I've done bloody well to find out this much, I'm afraid the rest is up to you.' The absence of any reference to Chelsea may also leave you feeling a little unsatisfied (the last revisions were made in 2004). But let's remember, this account is about the making of Wenger. Consequently, the day to day events of the last nine years are destined to play a very minor part.
So if you're interested in what kind of car Arsène Wenger drives, forget it. If you want to know whether he likes his eggs boiled, poached or fried, don't bother. Rees is offering you the bigger picture. He's trying to take you inside the mind of one of the greatest coaches in world football, and to explain the gradual evolution of the man we love to call Le Boss. Now if that does interest you, check you've got your passport, pack the Factor 20 and order a copy today.
Wenger: The Making of a Legend by Jasper Rees is published by Short Books at £8.99 (ISBN 1-904095-72-0).