Arsène Wenger ‘s Incredible Arsenal Record by the Numbers

Three Premier League titles, seven FA Cups and 49 games unbeaten might be among the most significant figures from his time in Arsenal’s dugout, but digging deeper into the record books reveals plenty more remarkable numbers behind Arsène Wenger ‘s Arsenal record. Here are some of the most incredible statistics from the legendary manager’s two decades in north London.

Arsène Wenger took charge of 1,235 matches, far more than Bertie Mee in second place (540) and George Graham in third (460). Combined, those two managers would still fall 235 matches short of Wenger’s total. His reign lasted 21 years and seven months, nearly nine years longer than Arsenal’s next longest-serving manager, George Allison.

Wenger managed 828 Premier League matches, the most of any manager in the competition’s history, 18 ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson. His nearest rival still working in the division is David Moyes, who sits third on the all-time list with 758 matches.

Arsenal won 716 times under Wenger, giving him a win ratio of 57.98%, while the club averaged 1.96 points per Premier League match during his tenure. The team scored 2,298 goals across those games, averaging 1.86 per match, with a goal difference of +1,071 over the period. Remarkably, 13 of the 24 seasons (54%) in which Arsenal scored 100 goals or more came under Wenger’s management.

Arsène Wenger remains the most successful manager in FA Cup history, winning the competition on seven occasions. His 2017 triumph saw him surpass Aston Villa’s George Ramsey, who had previously won it six times across a 33-year span either side of 1900.

Throughout his tenure, Wenger selected 222 different players for Arsenal’s first team. Below is a breakdown of the players who featured most often under his management:

The 200th and final player to make his debut under Wenger was Konstantinos Mavropanos, against Manchester United in April 2018. During his tenure, players representing 53 different nations featured for Arsenal’s first team, with England leading the way (80 players), followed by France (30) and Germany (11).

Ian Wright scored the first of Arsenal’s 2,298 goals under Arsène Wenger, netting in a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in September 1996. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the final goal of the era, securing a 1-0 win over Huddersfield Town in May 2018. In total, 117 different players scored for Arsenal during Wenger’s reign, led by Thierry Henry’s club-record 228 goals.

Below is the full list of Arsenal’s top goalscorers under Wenger:

Always a trailblazer, Wenger became the first overseas manager to win the English league, leading Arsenal to the title in 1997/98. The following season, Arsenal conceded just 17 league goals in 1998/99, the club’s best-ever defensive record, narrowly beating the 18 conceded during the 1990/91 title-winning campaign. In 2001/02, Arsenal became the first team to score in every single Premier League match throughout an entire season.

Arsenal faced 125 different opponents during the Wenger era, with Everton being the team they beat most often (32 times). Wenger’s joint-biggest win against Everton came in May 2005, a 7-0 victory. The club’s highest-scoring match of the era came in October 2012, a thrilling 7-5 win against Reading.

Arsenal finished in the top four for 20 consecutive seasons under Arsène Wenger, a feat the club had never previously achieved. He also gave first-team debuts to 83 academy graduates, starting with Paulo Vernazza against Birmingham City in October 1997, and ending with Ben Sheaf in a Europa League match against Red Star Belgrade in October 2017.

In January 2014, Gedion Zelalem became the first player born after Wenger took charge to make a first-team appearance, while Eddie Nketiah became the first player born after September 1996 to score, netting in a 2-1 League Cup win over Norwich City in October 2017.

Arsenal also enjoyed remarkable unbeaten runs under Wenger, going 588 days unbeaten away from home in the Premier League between March 2003 and October 2004, without losing any of their 27 away matches during that period. At home, the club went 32 league matches unbeaten between May 2003 and February 2005, losing just three of 72 home matches between May 2003 and April 2007.

Which of these statistics from Arsène Wenger’s Arsenal record do you find most impressive?