Arsène Wenger: Invincible

A fascinating film about the legendary Arsenal manager, and my respect for him only increased after watching.

It perhaps would have been nice to have had more time dedicated to things like the relief he felt after that famous 2014 FA Cup win, or the pain of the 2006 Champions League Final defeat, that really heralded the break-up of the Invincibles team.

On the whole a lovely film though, and we'll be lucky to ever have a manager of his ilk again.

Tough watch for me this was, being am Arsenal Season Ticket holder for 38 years and counting.

I was very surprised that the Champions League Final was not mentioned.

Lots of Great memories come flooding back of Highbury and bad memories of the 99 Semi-Final I was there.

The shots of him in the tunnel before the Burnley game was of him looking pretty angry, he blames US the fans for wanting him out.

But what he said is the truth "Arsenal lost their SOUL when they left Highbury.

He won't go back to the Emirates as their are no happy memories, Highbury was the love of his life as it was for all of us.

I was pleased to see Sir Alex having a lot to say, and was surprised when he said "that going a whole season unbeaten" was bigger then anything he had done, Really the Treble?

But was great to see the Respect he has for Arsene and he blames us the fans for getting rid of him. Sorry Sir Alex but in 2014 we had Klopp lined up, but Wenger would not leave. We should not have given him a new contract.

It's strange to watch Arsenal and Man U Rule English football, now look at us. Man U starting yet again after sacking Ole, Fergie left Man U in 2013 that's 8 years ago, and Wenger left in 2018.

It's not easy to replace 2 of the Greatest Managers that ever lived.

For a third generation Arsenal fan like myself, this is a soul lifting shot of liquid nostalgia; for anyone like me it's essential viewing, for those with an interest in English football beyond the strictly partisan it's similarly worthwhile. It's beautifully put together, and the format allows a more critical appraisal of Wenger than his own book; there's a nuance here that the book lacks. The final minutes of the film are unquestionably moving. What is strange is the scant attention given to Arsenal's trip to a Champions' League final. That aside, it's a great watch and captures much that's true about this uniquely focussed and influential football man.

This is well done. It tells the tale of how this unique football personality transformed the English game, a journey which started in ridicule and disbelief but which along the way produced one of the greatest teams in Premier League history. The tributes from Sir Alex Ferguson were nice to hear and the filming in Alsace gave a real flavour of Arsene Wenger's background. The highlight of the piece though was his own narrative, from which real human decency and a fair amount of wisdom shine through.

This is one of those docs that you keep the rivalries aside for and watch it for Arsène and the work he's done at Arsenal.

If you watch football, you should watch this - but it doesn't really have anything you already may not know. It's well made and offers some perspective from other legends on Arsenal's glory days under Wenger and the downfall after moving out of Highbury.

I did feel like there was something missing though. I thought Balon's doc on The Invincibles had SO MUCH more content. This doc was supposed to be that and then some more because this is about Arsene and The Invincibles are only a part of this journey. The doc really kicks off about halfway in, after his declaration to go undefeated but until then, I thought they missed the opportunity to say so much more about him and his journey prior to ARS. They do touch upon it but I thought there would be more. Compare this against Fergie doc with content prior to the treble, the storytelling was so much better.

But, regardless, by the end of the doc, you leave with more respect for the man and some life lessons for folks to takeaway. Respect and credit where it's due!