Having been appointed way back in 1996 of course, the sheer fact that Arsene Wenger is still manager of Arsenal is something truly incredible to behold in the modern era.
The likes of both he and Sir Alex Ferguson will probably never be seen again given the fickle nature of the modern-day game and it’s fair to say that the Frenchman has overseen the good, the bad and the ugly during all those years in charge of the Gunners.
With his Gunners career now being able to be split right down the middle with an incredibly successful first half and a disappointing second, it mustn’t be understated that Wenger oversaw the club’s transition from Highbury to Emirates Stadium while keeping Arsenal competitive and in the Champions League which is a fact that may only be appreciated more when he retires.
Winning two back-to-back FA Cup’s in the last two seasons of course, Wenger has managed to finally get his hands on silverware once again but his critics claim he should’ve broke the bank to really build upon the promising team he already has at his disposal in the transfer market this past summer.
Never one to get too carried away with transfer windows, Wenger has always remained a placid and largely laid-back kind of character with plenty of former players such as Ian Wright and Martin Keown claiming he was never one to rant and rave a la Sir Alex Ferguson in the dressing room.
Given his demeanour and personality, Wenger has also largely stood for no nonsense during his time in charge of the Gunners who on the whole, don’t get involved in much controversy nowadays although Wojciech Szczesny and Jack Wilshere’s smoking antics have proved a test of the manager and respective players’ relationships.
That said, we’ve dig through the archives today to devise a list of the five most outrageous scandals to hit the Gunners in the modern era.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 most outrageous scandals ever to hit Arsenal.
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‘Pizzagate’ at Old Trafford
While there is still a lot of animosity between fans of both Arsenal and Manchester United, battles between the two great names of English football were far more intriguing and shall we say, naughty, during the height of the Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane days where Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson were often at loggerheads too ahead of finally mellowing out in their relationship.
Everyone will remember the ‘Pizzagate’ scandal that was coined back in 2004 after Arsenal had just been defeated by United 2-0 at Old Trafford in a game that ultimately ended the Gunners’ 49-game unbeaten run with a bump.
In a feisty affair, this was the game in which Ruud van Nistelrooy finally scored a penalty (softly awarded in the eyes of Wenger) to banish his demons having missed that other penalty against the Gunners a season earlier where the whole Martin Keown melee ensued.
With the events of that day in the mind of United players and Sir Alex Ferguson in the 2004/05 fixture, United were incredibly fired up and so too were Arsenal who were also embroiled by the occasion.
The term ‘Pizzagate’ refers to the fact that after the final whistle, there was a scuffle in the tunnel after United secured the three points as a player, later alleged to be Cesc Fabregas, tempestuously threw pizza (god knows from where!) at Sir Alex Ferguson.
The ‘Battle of the Buffet’ won’t be forgotten by anybody at Arsenal or Manchester United any time soon.
That arrogant Pires & Henry penalty against Manchester City
Who could forget this infamous penalty taken BOTH by Robert Pires and Thierry Henry against Manchester City at Highbury back in the 2005/06 season?
Back during these days, Arsenal were far more of a polished outfit who were the real deal with the likes of the aforementioned pair, Freddie Ljungberg and Dennis Bergkamp to call upon.
Having previously gone a whole league season undefeated, Arsenal were playing on the back of being in their pomp and so much so that the French pair tried pulling off the most audacious of penalties against City whereby Pires tried squaring the ball for Henry only for the pair to get it horribly wrong.
The incident had younger football fans questioning whether penalties could even be taken in that fashion although elder fans will the remember Johan Cruyff penalty of 1982.
Everyone will remember the irate face of Danny Mills in the Citizens’ rearguard who was disgusted with this show of arrogance and showmanship which could be perceived as disrespectful to their opposition.
After the game, Arsene Wenger defended the penalty incident claiming: “Robert was uncertain and scared to miss the penalty and he made a big mistake and a wrong decision.
“He was not lacking seriousness or respect – he was lacking confidence.”
Olivier Giroud caught cheating on his wife
Olivier Giroud has never really been a player off the lips of Arsenal supporters during his Gunners career so far, sometimes for good reasons but often for bad ones as well.
For some, he is too effeminate while lacking the true hardness and clinical nature to make it as a top striker but in fairness to the French international, he hasn’t been the worst player to pass through the club with an overall Premier League goalscoring record of 43 goals in 103 appearances so far.
All of that aside, back in springtime last year, the press caught wind of the news that Giroud had been cheating on his wife with a model Celia Kay, taking her to his hotel prior to the Gunners’ game against Crystal Palace.
Facing disciplinary action from the club of course, the player then claimed he had to fight for his marriage with his wife Jennifer.
Ashley Cole being tapped up by London rivals Chelsea
Following last weekend’s eventful loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, many Arsenal fans accept nowadays that it is the Blues and Jose Mourinho who are the club that most get under their skin.
With Wenger and Mourinho having been involved in a large number of public spats now, one of the first seeds to sour the taste between the London rivals was the tapping-up scandal involving Ashley Cole back in January 2005.
Back then, Chelsea made their first moves to lure Cole away from Arsenal whereby the player and his agent Jonathan Barnett met with both Peter Kenyon and Jose Mourinho at what was supposed to be a secret meeting.
Eventually fined £100,000 by the Premier League for this alleged foul play, Cole went on to sign for the Blues in 2006 while burning his bridges with the Arsenal supporters in the process.
Everybody will remember the now famous quote from his autobiography which alluded to the player nearly swerving his multi-million car off the road when he heard about the value of contract extension Arsenal were preparing for him.
The term ‘Cashley’ was born for good!
Keown & co taking it too far against van Nistelrooy
As referred to on our first slide in this countdown, which football fan in general could ever forget the Manchester United versus Arsenal fixture at Old Trafford back on September 20th 2003?
At 0-0, United were awarded a last minute penalty with Gunners public enemy number one Ruud van Nistelrooy stepping up to take it following a series of scuffles and alleged dirty tricks when the referee wasn’t looking during the game.
Dramatically hitting the bar with Arsenal then holding on in the remaining time to snatch a point, the Arsenal players led by Martin Keown gallivanted in front of van Nistelrooy before the player jumped up behind him while striking him on the shoulder on the way down to antagonise him following the miss.
An image Arsenal fans will forever hold dear to their hearts due to their loathing of the Dutchman, all of Lauren, Ray Parlour and Ashley Cole were also present while seeming to join Keown in their taunting of the United forward.
Funnily enough, Sir Alex Ferguson was absolutely disgusted with the behaviour of Arsenal’s players after the game while Arsene Wenger of course chose to blame van Nistelrooy for winding his players up throughout the course of the game.
Football managers aye!