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So much has been made of the fact Arsene Wenger just doesn't play Englishmen, but it wasn't always the case. Back in 1988, AS Monaco won their first Ligue 1 title in six years...

Arsene Wenger: He Played Englishmen Once, Just Not At Arsenal

by Andrew McNair [HUMOR]

19

795 reads

Humor

July 24, 2008


So much has been made of the fact Arsene Wenger just doesn't play Englishmen, but it wasn't always the case.

Back in 1988, AS Monaco won their first Ligue 1 title in six years. Wenger was the manager in Monte Carlo back then and funnily enough, had a penchant for English footballers.

That 1988 league winning side contained two English internationals. That's more than any Arsenal side in recent years!

Glenn Hoddle and Mark Hateley played vital roles that season and Hoddle was voted the best foreign player in French football.

Hateley had joined from AC Milan and although he is best remembered for his spell with Scottish giants Rangers, it's truly amazing these days to think of big English strikers dominating in France and Italy.

Hoddle joined the French outfit for £750,000 from Tottenham Hotspur in 1987 and inspired Monaco to the title.

One wonders if Wenger will ever repeat such a feat and buy an English player he believes will win him another title?

Maybe he'll wait till he's coaching abroad again before pulling that rabbit out the hat!

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19 comments Last one added 11 months ago — Leave a Comment

  1. Dakota Rubin 11 months ago

    Andrew, really good article here.

    Could Walcott be that English player? Just a thought.

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    • Andrew McNair 11 months ago

      I wouldn't compare Hoddle to Walcott as they were signed at very different stages but I'd say yeas....Wenger does believe Walcott to be a future world class player.

      Thanks for the edit and kind words Dakota.

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  2. Shyam Parthasarathi 11 months ago

    This clearly shows that Wenger doesn't really care about the league in which his team is playing in, just the quality of his players - and so it doesn't necessarily mean that Arsenal should have English players just because we're an English club.

    Like Wenger said, he looks at players' quality, not their passports.

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    • Andrew McNair 11 months ago

      I wasn't having too serious a go at Wenger mate.

      It's good to see he's always done things his way. A great strong coach. Thanks for the comments.

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  3. Brad Simkulet 11 months ago

    Loved it, Andrew. I think that Arsene's philosophy has changed in one significant way since his Monaco days, and that change is the way he transfer fees. Can you imagine Hoddle being transferred for £750,000 pounds today, even allowing for inflation and his age at the time of the move? I can't. He'd be going for closer to £12,000,000 pounds (and that may be too conservative). I actually think there are a few players that Arsene would love to have from around the Premiership, they're just overpriced.

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    • Andrew McNair 11 months ago

      Thanks Brad. I enjoyed writing it. The info was too good not to write about haha.

      Hoddle was only 27 (his prime in some peoples eyes) so £12m would be a bargain.

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  4. Chris Kirk 11 months ago

    Wenger cant be blamed for not picking English players, simple fact is there aint any good enough to break into Arsenals first team.
    The blame lies elsewhere in English Football, namely the F.A.

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    • Brad Simkulet 11 months ago

      C'mon Chris. No Englishman are good enough for Arsenal's first team? John Terry's not good enough? Wayne Rooney's not good enough? Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves aren't good enough? Joe Cole? Frank Lampard? Steven Gerrard?

      While some of those mentioned might not fit Arsene's system, they could adapt and are surely good enough for the Arsenal squad. So I would say that it it isn't that English players aren't good enough, it's just that those who are good enough don't provide value for money.

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    • Andrew McNair 11 months ago

      One could also say it might be a failure of Wenger to have let players like Bentley slip through the net but I'm not going to be that person.

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    • Brad Simkulet 11 months ago

      I think that's fair to say, though, Andrew. Bentley obviously had some role to play in that move, but Wenger maybe could have done more to keep him around. He seems to be doing a better job with Walcott so far, although this may just be the critical season for Walcott's Arsenal career.

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    • Benjamin Rogers 11 months ago

      dude that is so cool to her finaly another supporter sees the truth!!!!

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    • Amartey Armar 11 months ago

      within a few years arsenal will have plenty of English talent because they'll have been educated for at least 10 years with the club. The youth system was built for this and it's coming to fruition... he's just not seen enough in the English players of recent years to warrant their ridiculous transfer valuations. £16m for Darren Bent, £23m for SWP, £29m for Rio, Rooney etc... I mean come on? Even the most blinkered footie fan must be able to see the value for a club lies in buying a good player for good value and not putting yourself under unnecessary financial pressure.

      The English kids at Arsenal look like being good enough to play at the top, top level, and that can only be good for the country as a whole. They play technical, good football because that's all they know. We've had a largely foreign 1st team for years and overachieved in a lot of ways, but once the first group of English players he recruited (back when they were 9 years old) start coming through regularly there's a conveyor belt of talent that will be emerging each year. We won't have to look to Europe and we won't have to pay silly money for them...Win-win, and we'll be ahead in the long-term. If we sell we can sell at English prices, and if we buy we'll be able to afford it BECAUSE of this period of relative tight-fistedness and looking to Europe for our players.

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  5. Anthony Sanchez 11 months ago

    I really hope they bring in the compulsary rule for english players.The day manchester united put out an all foreign team is the day I stop caring and become a neutral.

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    • Andrew McNair 11 months ago

      Man Utd are pretty far from that stat so I wouldn't be worrying too much. Rio, Carrick and Owen will be around for years to come.

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    • Benjamin Rogers 11 months ago

      i find that a ridiculas comment, you would abandone your team if it had all forign players, even if they won the treble again, i dont think you would.

      oh and what a supprise a manu fan likes the idea of 6 english players rule im sure you dont like it just to spite arsenal. if you find us hard to beat play better and dont try and get rules put against us.

      And finaly the rule will never come in because for one thing it is against the European and english law.

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    • Anthony Sanchez 11 months ago

      I don't care if arsenal field 11 aliens.I just don't want manchester united become a team of mercenaries.I'd even go as far to say I will have less interest the day they have a squad with no mancunians in.United have always been a reflection of the city.I'm not saying anything bad about arsenal.11 foreigners is probably a pretty good reflection of North London.

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  6. Chris Kirk 11 months ago

    Okay Brad, I wouldnt say Carrick,Hargreaves or Lampard would walk straight into Arsenal's starting line-up, only my opinion of course.
    The others you mentioned may command a starting place but at what cost to Arsenal? £120m maybe?
    When it comes to world-class English players we realy are struggling to produce them, the facts speak for themselves.

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  7. Anthony Chong 11 months ago

    The players that take most of arsenal position is french. What i want is to have other country player (of course the one that are pro) to be at arsenal, not french all the time.

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  8. Toks Omonubi 11 months ago

    Just like to say I don't think Bentley would have really made it in arsenal, just wasn't an Arsenal player.

    And secondly there r some really good young British talents that i believe should be coming in from the reserves this year, i know cos i've seen them play a number of times and i've seen Arsene's faith in a number of them this season. They have dominated our pre-season games so far and are yet to play again in two days time. Wouldn't like to mention any names but watch out for the carling cup this year.

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