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Arsenal appoint Arteta: The Arsene Wenger proteges to move into coaching

SoccerNews in English Premier League 20 Dec 2019

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Arsene Wenger’s legacy in world football is very apparent, with the number of his former players who are becoming managers rising all the time.

The latest addition to an ever-growing list is Mikel Arteta, who has been appointed as Arsenal’s successor to Unai Emery.

Arteta spent five years playing under Wenger at Emirates Stadium, winning a couple of FA Cups during that time.

The Spaniard has a tough task on his hands as he prepares to take over an Arsenal side lying 10th and seven points adrift of the top four in the Premier League.

As Arteta prepares to begin his new venture, we take a look at how other Wenger proteges managed when they swapped the pitch for the dugout.

 

TONY ADAMS

A four-time champion in England’s top flight and Arsenal’s captain fantastic in Wenger’s early years in charge, Adams has not quite matched those lofty standards as a coach.

He had a year at Wycombe Wanderers and a little over three months at Portsmouth, with both spells pretty miserable. When Granada came calling in April 2017 in a desperate bid to avoid relegation from LaLiga, Adams took charge for seven matches and lost all of them.

SOL CAMPBELL

Campbell was another centre-back extraordinaire under Wenger after his acrimonious move from Tottenham, and was only converted to the world of management in November 2018.

The 45-year-old chose a real challenge for his first appointment, taking over Macclesfield Town, who were languishing bottom of League Two before Campbell steered them to a great escape.

He left the financially stricken club in August of this year and has now taken on another ambitious project in the form of League One strugglers Southend United, who have just seven points from 21 matches this term.

REMI GARDE

He only spent three years playing under Wenger before retiring in 1999, winning the Premier League the year before, but it was not until 2011 that Garde took up his first head coach role with Lyon.

Under Garde, Lyon won the Coupe de France in 2012 and the Trophee des Champions in the same year, before he took over at Aston Villa in November 2015. He only lasted until the following March. He was most recently in charge of Montreal Impact before being sacked in August.

OLEG LUZHNY

Luzhny won a Premier League title under Wenger before stints with Wolves and Latvian side Venta, where he became player-coach for a spell in 2005.

After hanging up his boots for good, the former Ukraine international became assistant at Dynamo Kiev and was twice interim head coach before landing the top job at Tavriya Simferopol in 2012. He is now back in Kiev as an assistant again.

PAUL MERSON

Although his finest years as a Gunner preceded Wenger’s arrival, Merson did play under the Frenchman for a year before he had spells with Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Portsmouth.

After joining as a player in 2003, Merson became Walsall manager a year later, but constant line-up changes and supporter unrest led to him being sacked after a 5-0 thrashing by Brentford in February 2006. He is now a television pundit and columnist in the UK.

DAVID PLATT

Platt was approaching the end of a storied career when Wenger took over and the midfielder left after the manager’s first two years in charge. He was briefly Sampdoria boss but resigned after six matches, with other Serie A clubs angry that he was appointed without coaching qualifications.

A player-manager spell with Nottingham Forest followed, before three years in charge of England Under-21s. After three years on Manchester City’s staff, he spent a year in India with Pune City, and is now part of a consortium that has bought Palermo.

GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST

Van Bronckhorst won the Premier League and FA Cup under Wenger before leaving for four successful years with Barcelona in 2003 – a spell that included a Champions League final triumph over the Gunners. He then returned to boyhood club Feyenoord, finishing his career in 2010.

After a year in charge of Netherlands’ Under-21 team, he went back to Feyenoord and worked as assistant coach for four years before taking the top job in 2015. Five domestic trophies – including an Eredivisie title – followed before he departed after the 2018-19 campaign, and he has been tipped for big things. 

PATRICK VIEIRA

An inspirational skipper under Wenger and the leader during a time when Arsenal were at the forefront of English football battling Manchester United. 

Vieira went on to have spells with Juventus, Inter and Manchester City before turning his hand to coaching with New York City, where he spent two years before returning to France to coach Nice. He led the club to seventh last term but they find themselves in 14th after 18 matches so far this campaign.

THIERRY HENRY

Arguably the greatest player to have featured under Wenger for the Gunners, Henry is a Premier League great who became Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer before treading a familiar path to Barcelona.

He later returned to north London for a short loan spell from New York Red Bulls and was appointed assistant coach to Roberto Martinez with Belgium in 2016.

Henry’s first stint as a head coach was a disappointing one, winning just four of 20 matches in charge of Monaco – the club where he started his playing career. The France legend will hope for more success in his new venture with Montreal Impact.

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