Love, Loyalty, Legacy, and Because He's Not Jose Mourinho: In Wenger We Trust

Since the age of four, I have been an avid football fan. My first love was the AC Milan team of the early 1990s that played sublime football and had great team spirit. The one player that stood out for me was Paolo Maldini.

Imagine how happy I am that, 18 years later, he is still playing, and I still idolise him. While he was, and is, a great defender and captain, what I admire most is his loyalty.

Loyalty is a thing lost on many in the world of football today, in terms of managers, players, and supporters. How many managers jump ship when things aren't as cosy as thought? How many players in the last two weeks have left in search of more and more €s? How many Chelsea "fans" emerged when the club came into money?

Anyways, in school in 1990s Ireland, it was mandatory to support Celtic and a premiership team. Thus, my support of AC Milan didn't fit into this, so while retaining my love of Maldini and Co., I went in search of a Premiership club to follow. I was adamant not to follow the crowd and support Manchester United or Liverpool, as there was enough of them there already.

So who was it to be? Well, that question was answered the following weekend, watching Ian Wright play. Arsenal it is then!!

But, of course, this was the end of the George Graham era, followed closely by Bruce Rioch and chants of "Boring, Boring Arsenal" following me and the only other Arsenal fan around the school yard.

Until October 1996, when this new Frenchman appeared on the scene from Grampus Eight. Wait, they are a Japanese team, how good can he be? Ha, what a stupid question!! To this day, I thank God for the friendship between David Dein and Arsene Wenger.

I must be honest; I was slightly worried before Wenger took over, but who's "Boring, Boring" now. So yes, Wenger's teams have and still play great football, he's the club's most successful manager, has won leagues and FA cups, guided us to the Champions League final, went through a season unbeaten, and has developed some of the greatest players the world has seen over the last decade.

Yet, shockingly, that's not the main reason I respect Wenger so dearly. For me, it is his obvious love of the club. My yarn on Maldini at the start was not just to take up space; it was to illustrate my respect for those who show loyalty. Wenger comes across as someone who dearly loves and cares for Arsenal Football Club, its players, its supporters, and its legacy.

Chelsea fans still mourn the loss of Jose Mourinho. Was it impossible for any Chelsea fan to see that he worried more about himself than Chelsea or Porto beforehand? What self-respecting manager throws away a winners medal? Every interview was about "me, the Special one", "my team", "me, me, me" the great Mourinho.

Yet Grant's win record was only 0.1 percent worse than Mourinho's and he was treated as a villain? Do Chelsea fans every wonder what will happen when Abramovich gets bored of his "Chelski" toy and decides to leave? See, Arsenal doesn't have to worry about that, thanks to Wenger.

So, while Manchester United will never be my favorite team, I have huge time and respect for Ferguson and the way his team plays. He again wants the best for United and has his team playing good football.

So, to those "fans" that crave nothing but bought trophies, large signings, and oil billionaires at their clubs, good luck to ye. You can buy Shevchenckos, you can buy Mourinhos, and you can buy new bandwagon jumpers, but you can never buy history, and you certainly can't buy a Wenger!

End of rant :-) In Arsene We Trust!!