My Life in Red and White: The Sunday Times Number One Bestselling Autobiography

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I suppose it speaks to Wenger's character that he hasn't engaged in gossip, which I give him huge credit for. It's also clear he has, unsurprisingly, huge knowledge of the game and a passion for its advancement. Chronologically his career is laid out culminating with Arsenal where he led the team for twenty-two years. The impact of Wenger on Arsenal is immeasurable and probably because of the nature of modern-day football commercialisation, will never be replicated. At Arsenal he had total control, he developed some of the best football players the English Premiership/ Europe ever witnessed, he achieved an unbeaten season with a team of INVINCIBLES - love saying that. He was instrumental in the building of a new stadium and advanced football style, medical treatment and diet to new levels. I loved Arsene Wenger and I remember watching an interview with him many years ago when success was regularly achieved, him saying that he would know when it would be time to leave Arsenal. Unfortunately, what tarnished his reputation was that he did not. It was beneficial for me because it made me more open-minded. Let’s not forget I came from Alsace and I worked in Monaco; Monaco is a different country compared to Alsace. After that, I worked in Japan, then England, which is again very different. These kinds of experiences make you more tolerant, more willing to understand other people and realise that, at the end of the day, the culture in each country [consists of] reflexes that we have built in our childhood. To meet somebody else means you have to get out of yourself and try to see who the other guy is in front of you. And it’s part of the job of a manager. In the years following they would holiday on Dein’s boat, and the Arsenal board member would watch Monaco’s matches in France. After some time in Japan, the invite to manage Arsenal arrived. He loved Real Madrid as a youngster Nonetheless, this book gives a great insight into the various transfers and dealings. I loved the story of David Dein's daughter crying silently into her dinner when she realised her favourite Ian Wright was being sold. I did the same when I heard the news.

I did enjoy it, and there were times (especially at the beginning and end of the book) where he went into more detail, which was a good read, but I wish he had done it more. I’m no wiser as to any specifics of what went on behind the scenes at arsenal in his 22 years there, for instance, nor was there any other real storytelling, insight into the specifics of management, or his side of the story on some of the most famous incidents he was involved in. I can’t help but feel he could’ve let the reader into much more. Instead of detailing his feelings as he goes into key matches he brushes aside huge events in a couple of sentences. Pretty much: “That year we won the double and the following year united won the treble.” Wow, ok thanks for the insight Arsene! You brought about a revolution in the way British footballers considered their diet and wellbeing. Psychology and mindfulness are the current fashion in elite sport. What do you think could be the next big game-changer? Hostility no, competition yes. It was vital [at Arsenal] that you beat Tottenham for the respect of the club. Competition is important, as long as it’s not crazy. When you [were due to] play Tottenham, at the start of the week everybody was a bit more nervous than usual.In 1996, Wenger, tall, whip-thin, like a sixth-former in a suit, entered the British consciousness when he was announced by Arsenal as the fourth foreign manager in the history of top-division English football (the previous three had not fared well). He held the position for 22 years until 2018, during which time Arsenal won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups. While his great rival at Manchester United, Alex Ferguson, motivated players with the famed “hairdryer treatment”, Wenger became known for “invisible” training: a holistic approach that went beyond fitness and ball skills and overhauled the lifestyle and nutrition of the squad. Players were given instruction on how to chew their food; the traditional half-time boost of a chocolate bar and fizzy drink was swapped for a sugar lump with caffeine drops on it. It’s safe to say that Arsène Wenger’s My Life in Red and White is one of the most hotly anticipated autobiographies in football history. Few managers are held in such high regard, or have left quite as much impact on the game, as the professorial Arsenal legend. You have to analyse what is justified and what is not. I was, of course, affected by critics. Because nobody can say he is immune to that, especially when you feel you are giving it your best. The critics started in 2016, when we finished second in the league, because we didn’t win the championship. And I would say that if we finished second in the league today, it would be a huge success. But because Leicester won the championship, everybody else was guilty. But they had a super team and they lost only three games in the season. Overall, it is like that when you are a long time somewhere. FANS have been given their first look at Arsene Wenger's new book - with the Arsenal legend set to reveal the full inside story of his rise and fall at the Gunners. Definitely a must read for any Arsenal fan. The younger / new fans as well as seasoned fans should give it a read to understand completely how and why Wenger has EVOLVED the football club we all adore.

As a life-long enthusiastic Arsenal supporter (God help me), this was a book I was always going to buy - well get as a Christmas gift. The overall feeling is that to a large extent it was missing so much. Arsene Wenger was such an innovative coach who looked holistically at players development, the cohesion of the team and the structures within the club itself. So why were the details of that creative thinking missing? Unless it wasn't as creative or innovative as I imagined. I appreciated watching Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger just how important the manager was to a club, how they instilled the culture, the belief and all the science and training that helped develop players. I would love to have learned how they achieved that and what their secret sauce looked like.

Wenger brought Arsenal to three English Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, making the team a constant presence in the UEFA Champions League. He is regarded as a transformative force within English football. At the end of his debut season, just he and Chelsea’s Ruud Gullit represented non-British or Irish managers in the top-flight. By the time he departed all but eight of the twenty teams could boast the same. One commented: "Every ounce of my being is praying he launches into Gazidis, but I know my man's too classy for that." In 2002/03, the season in which Arsène Wenger announced to the press that Arsenal could go the whole season unbeaten, his team fell short. They won the FA Cup, but gave up an early lead in the title race to Manchester United, eventually losing by five points. As too was the notion of philosophy. That Wenger was a visionary, revolutionary of the game is unquestionable. His first years in particular at Arsenal and in English football changed the course of both, and the book explores some of his key thoughts and ideas that underpinned his management, including his expectations of players, the psychology of the game and player management.

Football to him is not merely a profession, most certainly not a hobby, it is framed much closer to an obsession. For the tall Frenchman, it has been a foe who can bring with it sleepless nights, the occasional gift of unbridled joy but consistently a entity against which he battles to improve himself, his players and in much more than a philosophical sense, the game itself. For the very first time, world-renowned and revolutionary football manager Arsène Wenger tells his own story. He opens up about his life, sharing principles for success on and off the field with lessons on leadership, and vivid tales of his 22 years managing Arsenal to unprecedented success. What is socialist for you? For me, a socialist is trusting connectivity to sort the problems of a society. First, you need a collective environment that favours the expression of the individual. After that, I think it’s down to an individual’s initiative to make the most of their life. But the dominant thing is a collective environment for me. It covers the years of controversy that led up to his resignation in 2018 and his current seat as chief of global football development for Fifa. Wenger was known for having a huge influence over how Arsenal was run from top to bottom, but he’d long been involved in the minutia of his clubs’ business practises. Especially in his role at Nancy in Ligue 1.

There are passages of extreme self-examination. He implies that too many things in life became secondary to football, to great personal cost in effect. An exceptional book about an exceptional human being. This book written by football journalist John Cross gives great insight into the man who managed Arsenal for twenty years and the behind the scenes efforts to make Arsenal one of the biggest clubs in the world. A bland, unimaginative and formulaic retelling of many well worn tales and tribulations involving such a mesmeric and intriguing football personality. Towards the end of My Life In Red And White, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger ponders the conversation that will take place should he eventually reach the gates of heaven.