Arteta's olive branch leads to emotional Emirates return and statue for legend

Arsene Wenger came bounding towards the front of the Emirates Stadium on the morning of Thursday, August 3. He stopped, craned his neck upwards and pointed.

‘Who is this?’ he joked, looking at a shiny, new bronze statue. The supporters, gathered behind the cordon, laughed.

It was the statue that had taken four years to complete. Wenger’s former partner Annie and daughter Lea were there, too, to see the sculpture.

The unveiling extended to a private lunch at the Emirates where former managers, ex-Arsenal stars, current boss Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu gathered in tribute to a man who transformed the club across 22 years.

Yet the statue — the tallest of the six at the stadium, measuring three and a half metres — represents more than just a grand gesture. It is the completion of a long, complicated journey behind the scenes from acrimony to a place of acceptance and love.

At the Emirates Cup match between Arsenal and Monaco on August 2, the cameras panned to the 73-year-old in the stands.

Cheers erupted, and at full time Wenger made his way to the changing room to greet the players. But the Frenchman was there for more than a match between two sides he had managed.

The next day was the statue unveiling and an intimate lunch for a select few. And it really was just a few, a number of his former players having missed out on an invite because of its intimate nature. Some were surprised at how Wenger was not presented on the pitch at the game or given a big reception at the following day’s event. Yet those close to the club say, typical of the man, he wanted no fuss.

He had been emailed designs of the statue for him to OK before the sculpture was given the go-ahead. The result was a bronze statue depicting Wenger holding one of his three Premier League trophies, which joined sculptures of legendary boss Herbert Chapman, players Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry, Tony Adams and board member Ken Friar.

It is understood the statue was commissioned in 2019 — the year after Wenger had left the club. Why it was not on the agenda earlier is a mystery. But to even get to this point looked a far cry just months earlier.

What Wenger had done for the north London club prior to his departure at the end of the 2017-18 season transcended the many results, titles and memorable nights produced since 1996.

When he was appointed manager by David Dein he changed the whole face of the club. New diets, new training techniques, new ideas, new foreign stars. He oversaw the building of the new training ground and the Emirates and accepted financial restraints that came with paying off the stadium. He was the modern day Arsenal Football Club.

Yet a year before the end of his tenure, the severing of the relationship between Wenger and Arsenal had begun. On May 27, 2017 Arsenal faced Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Their rivals had just won the league, while the Gunners finished fifth — missing out on Champions League football for the first time in 20 years. The team had also been humiliated 10-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in the competition just months earlier.

The atmosphere among fans was febrile, ‘Wenger Out’ banners were a regular feature amid a feeling it was time for change. Arsenal won that final 2-1 and it is understood Wenger had been considering going out on a high but was persuaded to stay on by the board.

Just three days after the Cup triumph, he penned a two-year extension. Yet before mid-March in the 2017-18 campaign, the board told Wenger that if he were not to resign, he would be sacked at the end of the season. This hurt Wenger deeply. The fall-out had begun.

Following his ‘resignation’, he stayed away. One source said: ‘It’s like a divorce. Why would Wenger have wanted to go back to the stadium or club? After how it all ended, it would have brought back pain. Enough water under the bridge needed to have passed before that could have happened. ‘He is such a dignified character that he has kept his distance and not pointed any fingers at anyone.’ Wenger kept himself occupied before taking on a role at FIFA as chief of global football development. Wenger and Arsenal remained apart, though.

His exile hurt some at the club. Owner Stan Kroenke, Edu and CEO Vinai Venkatesham were on the same page. They, along with Arteta, who had played under Wenger, wanted the Frenchman to feel part of the Arsenal family again, but it was about how.

In November 2021, Arteta had spoken with his old boss at a film screening on Wenger’s career. Weeks later, the Spaniard said: ‘Hopefully we can bring him close because he would have a great time just seeing the environment that he can create around him when he’s around the club.

‘That is because of the respect, admiration and love that everybody at the club has for what he’s done and for what he represents as a person in this club.’

It was an olive branch. Yet it took until Boxing Day last year, when Arsenal beat West Ham, for Wenger to visit the Emirates for the first time since his exit.

It was a significant moment. Kroenke flew in from the United States just so he could see the former manager. From that day the relationship between the club and Wenger realigned.

Asked for his reaction after seeing his statue for the first time, Wenger said: ‘It’s emotional because it is an honour. I always wanted to be part of this club.’

And now he is — again and for ever.