Wenger reveals the best player he signed at Arsenal | sports

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Arsene Wenger, the legendary coach of Arsenal, revealed the best player he signed during his coaching career with the English team.

The French coach, who spent 22 years on the bench with the London club, is considered one of the architects of Arsenal’s victories in the English Premier League title.

The former Arsenal boss believes it was Patrick Vieira, not Thierry Henry, who was his best ever signing for the Gunners.

Henry is the Gunners’ all-time top scorer, having scored more than 200 goals for the club after signing with Wenger from Juventus.

Vieira is the best

Wenger’s first two signings, Vieira and Remy Garde, were confirmed before the manager’s official arrival.

Vieira moved to Arsenal with the beginning of Wenger’s move from Japan to take over as coach of the Gunners. Vieira’s influence quickly became evident in the team’s midfield.

It was amazing to see him successfully intercept balls from opposing teams and then send them with great speed and accuracy to his team players in the same movement. He was distinguished by strength and toughness as well as great skill and technique.

Arsenal finished third in Wenger’s first season, with youngster Nicolas Anelka also joining the club, and then won the double after signing the likes of Emmanuel Petit and Dutch winger Marc Overmars, in 1997.

Wenger made a number of key signings in the years that followed, but he looked carefully at the early addition of Vieira.

“It depends,” Wenger told Sir Mo Farah when the Olympian and Arsenal fan asked him about his best work. “If you look at it financially, you can say many, many, many things. Maybe the credibility I got first was because of the first player I brought in, which was Patrick Vieira.”

Vieira was an icon of Arsenal’s golden generation, which won the league title three times under the leadership of the French philosopher.

The Frenchman, who wore the Arsenal shirt for 9 seasons and carried the team’s captaincy before leaving for Italy to wear the Juventus and Inter shirt.

Vieira ended up playing over 400 games for Arsenal before later going on to win 3 consecutive Serie A titles with Inter Milan.

The French star built great fame on the football field before retiring in the summer of 2011 with a Manchester City shirt.

The midfield rock shined greatly with the French national team, and he was a fundamental pillar in the Roosters’ triumph in the 1998 World Cup, Euro 2000, and the Confederations Cup in 2001.

He has since moved into coaching, earning his first Premier League job with Crystal Palace, and also spending time at top-flight clubs in France, the United States and Italy.

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