21 years on from his appointment as Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was characteristically evasive when asked to reflect on his legacy in north London.
Wenger celebrated his anniversary at the Arsenal helm with a routine 2-0 win over Brighton at the Emirates, the stadium that stands as perhaps the most enduring mark of the 67-year-old’s legacy.
Recent years have seen a section of Arsenal fans turn against their manager but there remains a goodwill for Wenger, who has three Premier League titles and a record seven FA Cups, among the majority of supporters.
The Frenchman as ever professed indifference over his landmarks but, with discontent having largely been quelled over the past month, did offer a reminder that he can’t keep the “bad moments” away forever.
“I didn’t know about it but I just have been told by the press,” Wenger said of his anniversary.
“I wouldn’t like too much to reflect on that. I kept my focus on my job always under good and bad circumstances.
“When you’re 21 years somewhere you know that you have good and bad moments. Nobody can make 21 years and only fly.
“What I love in the game is as well to deal with bad moments and find the response.”
Arsenal did not quite soar to the heights they have reached over Wenger’s two decades on Sunday but they did ease to an important win over Brighton.
The newly-promoted Seagulls challenged their hosts to break them down, something which the Gunners at times laboured to achieve before Nacho Monreal scrambled in the opener following a Granit Xhaka free-kick.
Alex Iwobi doubled the Gunners’ advantage just before the hour mark, allowing Wenger’s side a relatively serene, if uninspired, passage to three points that draw them level with Chelsea.
“We kept a clean sheet. We got the points. Offensively we certainly weren’t ruthless enough.
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“Our focus and the pace in the game was a bit in and out. We had good moments and as well moments where we lost our concentration a bit and [lost] balls we usually don’t lose.
“But we got what we wanted and just before the international break. Our last break was a nightmare, this one is a bit better.”
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