Arsene Wenger 'opened windows and broke walls' to give football 'completely different dimension' - Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta has welcomed legendary Arsenal figure Arsene Wenger back to the club with open arms after he was recognised with a statue outside Emirates Stadium.

Wenger spent 22 years in the seat currently occupied by Arteta and won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his time in North London.

But the Frenchman's success came from methods completely new to English football – which raised plenty of eyebrows at the time – following his move to the Gunners from Japan’s Nagoya Grampus Eight.

Fast forward to the present day, Wenger is credited for revolutionising the game as we know it, from the introduction of new training regimes to dieting – and Areta couldn’t agree more.

“First of all, the statute I think is incredible, I think it’s so good,” he told TNT Sports in an exclusive interview. “I spoke to him and I think he was really happy with it.

“I think it shows what the club is about, and he needs to be part of it forever. For the past, for the present, and for the future of this football club.

“Because he gave this club and the Premier League a completely different dimension. He opened so many windows and broke so many walls that were established in this game and that’s thanks to him. He had a vision that nobody else had.

“I think how we are today is a lot because of what he did, that’s for sure.”

Wenger returned to Emirates Stadium for the first time to watch Arsenal come from behind to beat West Ham United 2-1 last Boxing Day – four years after his departure in 2018.

The 73-year-old was also present for Arsenal’s Emirates Cup clash against Monaco - the team Wenger managed from 1987 to 1994 - the day before his statue was officially unveiled.

Images of the Frenchman greeting the Gunners’ current first-team players in the home dressing room after the game flooded social media – something Arteta admits made him emotional.

“There is not a single day that I don’t think of him,” he admitted, as he spoke from the training ground Wenger spent so many years at. “Especially now because now he’s very present inside the building and that’s something I wanted to bring back.

“And now the fact that he is closer to the team, and the other day when he was around all the staff and all the people working around him and all the players, I got really emotional because he fully deserves that recognition.

“He needs to be able to come here any day, put the red carpet to him and work. He needs to feel that. I think it’s really important to everybody that we get that done.”

Arteta also feels that having Wenger present at the stadium and around the training facilities would be a big boost for the players, and it’s something he can see happening more often.

“For sure, him having a chat with the players, there are things that he can explain to them and talk in a way that I cannot do,” he said.

“I’m with them every single day, and having someone to inspire them and the capacity that he has to do that and the intelligence that he has to do that, is something that is a great opportunity for us and now I think he’s willing to do it.”

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