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Wenger wants to give Arsenal another Premiership title

Arsene Wenger insists he is not the sort of manager to wallow in the past, but even he will allow himself a few nostalgic moments when Arsenal visit Charlton today.

The Frenchman celebrated 10 years in charge of the north London club this week, a decade which has seen him accumulate almost every piece of silverware available in the club game and become one of world soccer's most respected figures.

Three Premiership titles, four FA Cups and three Manager of the Year awards would be enough to satisfy most coaches, but Wenger is different. While the Champions League remains his most pressing priority -- Wenger has still to exorcise the ghosts of last season's heartbreaking final defeat to Barcelona -- a return to the Premiership pinnacle would be almost as satisfying for the top flight team's second-longest-serving manager.

A stumbling start to Wenger's landmark season may have dented those prospects, but the shoots of recovery are beginning to peek through.

Four consecutive victories -- two in Europe, two at home -- have revitalized Arsenal and they are now playing with their customary swagger, a trait which, for the Swedish midfielder Freddie Ljungberg, serves as Wenger's greatest legacy.

"The manager has brought a lot of trophies to the club but maybe, specifically, the way we've played under him will be remembered," he said.

"It's a very technical way of playing and the fans enjoy watching it. Even the neutrals enjoy it so maybe that will be one of the biggest things people remember. He's quite open to everything. Arsenal have scouts all over the world. He tries to look at new players and young players and there are not a lot of players he doesn't know about. But he is also a brilliant coach and that's the best way I can describe him," Ljungberg said.

Such is the esteem for Wenger within the game, even his opponents today have felt obliged to pay their respects.

Dennis Rommedahl, the Charlton winger, has credited the 57-year-old with transforming Arsenal's reputation from dour long-ball merchants to swashbuckling cavaliers.

"Before I came to England, I knew them as `boring boring Arsenal.' But he made them the best passing team in the league. The way they play football is not English. It's more like the way they play in Spain and in my eyes that's a very positive thing," he said.
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