manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996. He is currently the club's longest serving manager and most successful, based on trophies won.
After completing a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Electrical engineering and Economics respectively at the University of Strasbourg Wenger began his short lived playing career, moving to three different French clubs in the space of eight years—the last of which being RC Strasbourg in 1981. He briefly managed top-flight club AS Nancy-Lorraine, before entering a highly successful period at AS Monaco, winning the Ligue 1 championship in his first season and later the Coupe de France in 1991, along with developing young talent such as Youri Djorkaeff, George Weah and Thierry Henry. In 1995, he coached Japanese J-League side Nagoya Grampus Eight winning the prestigious Emperor's Cup and the Japanese Super Cup.
At Arsenal, Wenger became the first non-British manager to win the Double in 1998 and replicated the achievement in 2002. In 2004, he became the only manager in Premier League history to go through an entire season undefeated, a run which ended at 49 games. Wenger's tenure also brought Arsenal a first appearance in a Champions League final in 2006 at Paris; the team however lost to FC Barcelona late on.
Despite a trophy barren spell in recent seasons, Wenger is widely regarded by many as one of the world's best managers. He has been dubbed a "miracle worker" by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein for achieving consistency with minimal resources and is often credited for revolutionising the state of English football. The nickname Le Professeur was given to him by former Arsenal players and is still used by fans and the British media today, reflecting his astute and forward thinking approach.
Wenger is also renowned for being multilingual; in addition to speaking fluent French, German and English, he commands some Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese.
