As Arséne Wenger concludes his 22-year relationship with Arsenal, his departure is much more than a manager leaving his pertinacious post.
It is a loss of morality, honesty and loyalty in an sport and society that needs it now more than ever.
Throughout my 20 years on this planet, there have only been a few constants. One happened to be in North London, guiding the Arsenal through silverware-laden times and roller-coaster campaigns.
To some, this was all that mattered. You can find them on YouTube and Twitter quite easily, often outraged outside the Emirates and venting into a camera.
However, for me and many others 20-something-year-olds who have only known the Wenger era, Arséne’s Arsenal meant so much more.
I grew up learning to stick with your belief in what is right, to always have your rectitude and honesty at the forefront of your mind.
I went from a kid being thankful for the Arsenal manager’s dynamic football to a young man indebted for his philosophy-laden L’Equipe interviews and thoughts on existentialism in his Friday press conference.
“The only possible moment of happiness is the present. The past gives you regrets. And the future uncertainties. Man understood this very fast and created religion.
“It absolves you of what you’ve done wrong in the past and tells him not to worry about the future, because he’ll go to paradise. It means make the most of the present. Man ‘self-psychoanalysed’ himself very quickly through faith.”
As I grew to understand the man and his principles more, I grew more emotionally attached than most fans to their teams. For me, it was the beautiful game and more. It was about self-belief, battling through adversity and winning in the right way.
His beliefs became mine. When he won, so did I. When he lost, I would feel the pain too.
I’m not naïve, and my arguments for him to stay dwindled after the 2015/16 campaign. But how do you dispel something that you believe in more than anything? It is hard, and I fear that question will never be answered.
In some ways, I am glad it’s over, because having your life-long beliefs being attacked every week must be piercing. I’m also glad that it’s not what I’ll remember.
I know that in time I will look back and think of the well-dressed, calm, principled man I saw on the touchline at the Emirates.
I will think of the guy who somehow gave us Mesut Özil, Alexis Sánchez and Aaron Ramsey.
Someone who treated us to ‘Wengerball’, mesmerising sequences of one-touch passing we did not think possible. That still inspires me every time I play football.
Most importantly, he gave us the game plan on how to be an exceptional person. And it is for that I will thank him for most.
The quote “success without integrity is nothing” is more than a cheesy line echoed in a Hugo Boss advertisement. It is something that we were told every time Arsenal won.
I hope there’s one more well-principled trophy left in the locker for my hero, Arséne Wenger.
Merci Arséne. For everything.
Cameron Dhaliwal 
I discovered this post from your link on 7amkickoff’s Twitter feed.
Wenger is the kind of person who would be happy and proud to have inspired young people such as yourself and even though I thought it was best for the club that he should have gone 2 or 3 years ago, I will miss him terribly.
Well done, nice post!
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Thank you for the kind words!
I hope so. He’s had an effect that has transcended football. That’s a fair point, my head said on the pitch he wasn’t keeping with his high standards, but I knew that off it we would never get the likes of him again.
I just hope we can give him the perfect send-off, starting tomorrow!
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