Starting this week, the documentary "Invincible: Arsene Wenger", which deals with the time of French coach Arsene Wenger at Arsenal from the moment he arrived in London as a completely anonymous man in 1996 until he left the club, airs on yes docu and stinging TV. 22 years later as one of the most influential figures in the history of the Premier League era.
As the name of the film implies, most of the plot revolves around the incredible championship season of 2003/2004, in which the Gunners set a historic achievement when they finished without a loss, but for 95 minutes dripping with nostalgia new aspects of Wenger are revealed - mostly personal and human.
The film's director is Gabriel Clark, a respected media man who has covered English football for years and most recently focused on documentaries.
After creating such about Bobby Robson and Jackie Charlton, he explains in an interview with Israel Today why he chose Arsene Wenger for his new project: "As an ITV journalist, I covered this period between 1998 and 2005, when Wenger flourished at Arsenal .
For years I thought it would be nice to make a film about him, and only in 2018 when Wenger left did he agree to make this documentary that he always refused to make.
I've made movies before, and I'm always trying to make sure I'm doing something I believe in, in his story, and not just making a movie.
I wanted to tell a story that would speak not only to Arsenal fans but to everyone, and I feel like it's here. "
Wenger with the trophy in 2004, Photo: AP
"There was something new in him"
In fact, the idea was born in Clark long before the unbeaten 2004 season.
Five years earlier, when Arsenal had won the double, Clark had asked Arsenal's goalkeeping coach to try to persuade Wenger to make a film about him, but he refused on the grounds that he was not arrogant enough.
"There was something new about him," Clark explains of what drew him to the Frenchman with his oversized jacket and clumsy demeanor.
"He was modern in a way. He was accessible and authentic, unlike the British. He was communicative and global, and I think it was very refreshing and what attracted me at first to try to make a film about him. It was very important to me to show everything. In Arsen's time, we saw cultural changes. In England. In the late 90's we became more global, we became more pluralistic, Wenger represented it. He brought in foreigners and French who offered something new to English football. They understood that they had to accept English culture to be successful here. Henry, Vieira, Pierce, and of course Wenger himself. "
Although it's a movie about football and a team that played it almost perfectly, football is not the main thing in the story.
Clark does not pretend to decipher Wenger and Arsenal's tactical and professional secret at the time, but rather emphasizes the coach's interpersonal skills.
Arsene Wenger.
"Be modern, media and global," Photo: Reuters
The role of character witnesses has been successfully filled by his trainees over the years, including Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Ian Wright, Martin Keone, Emanuel Petty, Robert Pierce and Patrick Vieira, with the surprising guest role of Manchester United manager at the time, Sir Alex Ferguson.
"I've had a good relationship with Ferguson since the days I worked as a journalist," Clark says. "Ferguson understands that without Wenger he would not have achieved what he achieved. Without Arsenal's push and winning the double, United probably would not have won the treble. Arsenal pushed United, and Wenger pushed Ferguson, and vice versa."
Van Nistelrooy's Penalty
The rivalry with Manchester United is of course at the heart of the film.
Clark, who could have chosen countless moments to place on his plot axis, chose to focus on Rod van Nistelrooy's missed penalty in the league meeting between the teams in the unbeaten season: "Arsen talks a lot about fate,"
Clark emphasizes, "and that penalty was out of his control. "That penalty would come in, so they are not invincible. I liked the idea that even the greatest managers, who control everything and know everything, face moments in life that are out of their control and may change their course."
Ferguson.
Mutual success relationship with Wenger,
In Clark's film, Wenger's trajectory is shown throughout its length and breadth.
From childhood in Alsace, the lower class family, the small neighborhood club and the road the French had to go from the same place without ambitions to the summit of European football.
The openness with which Wenger talks about his personal life - about the disproportionate love for the game that has taken a considerable family and personal price from him - makes it possible to see the manager in a different and new light.
Wenger admits to the mistakes he made, recounts how he felt when the team moved from Highbury Stadium to the Emirates and gives an honest glimpse into the end that was much less good and successful from the start.
"I tried to take the mask off Wenger," Clark clarifies, "to see where he grew up, how he is beyond his relationship with the media. To show that he has feelings, that he admits mistakes and that he is human. I hope people will feel something, even if they are not Arsenal fans. "That they would connect to the greatness of a man, who had a special and unique way of approaching the game that we all love."
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