#MerciArsene: Arsenal Bids Arsene Wenger an Emotional Goodbye

The club released a video to mark the occasion and look back at its journey over the years with Wenger at the helm. 

(Photo: AP)

Arsene Wenger, who is leaving the club after being in-charge for almost 22 years, was given a guard of honour by both sets of players before kickoff.

With Huddersfield celebrating survival at the end of their first Premier League campaign, acknowledgment of Wenger's final – and 1,235th – game in charge took place. Once the action was under way, a plane flew over the ground carrying the banner "Merci Arsene - we'll miss you".

In the 22nd minute, the entire ground stood to applaud Wenger, whose achievements – including three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and a 49-game unbeaten run –were celebrated in song by the travelling North London supporters.

Arsenal also released a video to mark the occasion and to thank the Frenchman for his immense contribution to the club. Combining old clips from past matches of the club and their journey over the years with bits of interviews and conversations with Wenger, the video looks back at the emotional moments of the club with the manager.

"Merci, Arsene"

After the game the Arsenal team and staff formed another guard of honour to say farewell to Wenger and captain Per Mertesacker, who will manage the club's academy next season.

Former Arsenal and Scotland goalkeeper Bob Wilson then led the tributes to Wenger on the pitch, backed by huge letter-boards spelling out "Merci Arsene".

"He has built the Arsenal that we know and love today. He has changed the face of football in this country. Hundreds of players owe their careers to him," Wilson told the crowd, all standing for the occasion.

“Of course it is very emotional after 1,235 games for the same club. To enjoy it we had to win it, winning football games is what makes me happy and the boys did it. It was a good day for everyone with Huddersfield staying up too,” said Wenger.

What Next for Wenger?

Wenger confirmed that he had already received approaches to manage other clubs but had not yet explored those options. "Yes I had offers, of course, but at the moment I did not even speak to anybody of the many offers," he said.

"You cannot come out of such a long process and the next morning say 'yes, I go somewhere else', it is impossible."

Whatever he does next, Wenger said it will be difficult to match the emotions he has experienced with Arsenal.”Where do I go from here? That is the difficulty, when you have experienced such intensity for such a long time,” he said.

"It will be difficult. (But) even when not managing the club, I will remain a fan of the club."

(With inputs from Reuters.)

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