Arsene Wenger was responsible for some of Arsenal’s best signings, even leaving the Gunners a parting gift.
A part of Arsenal’s soul left the Emirates when Wenger departed in 2018, bidding farewell to the club after 22 years of service.
The Arsenal legend wrote his name into the club’s history due to his success and his overall impact on the English game.
Wenger has an idea of his best signings at Arsenal, but one of them he hardly got to spend time with, as months before his exit, the Frenchman secured a deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Arsene Wenger broke his transfer rule to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
In the Emirates era, Arsenal’s track record of signing strikers has been a problem, as Mikel Arteta continues to combat the issue.
Back in 2018, Wenger saw a gap in the market to sign Aubameyang from Borussia Dortmund, a signing that clearly excited the former Arsenal boss.
Even before the Gabon international signed, Wenger’s excitement was there for all to see, as for a moment, the legendary manager let his guard down and broke one of his infamous transfer rules.
The boss rarely, well, never, spoke about transfer speculation to the media, as frustrated fans and journalists grew to know over the years.
For example, in May 2015, Wenger was asked by reporters about Arturo Vidal and Karim Benzema being linked to Arsenal, to which the Frenchman responded, “If I tell you I like him, you will announce the transfer just after that.”
Elaborating on Benzema, Wenger was as coy as ever, “You can suspect that at the moment I am not in a transfer mode.”
The same happened the year prior, as before Arsenal signed Mesut Ozil on transfer deadline day in 2013, Wenger pulled his famous grin when asked about any transfer plans.
When it came to Aubameyang, however, the former manager actually shared his thoughts on the striker and his suitability for Arsenal with the media.
As a journalist asked if Aubameyang would fit in at Arsenal amid disciplinary issues at Dortmund, Wenger’s response shocked everyone.
“Yes, because character can be a very positive note, and it can be a very negative note. I believe overall you look at the achievements of a player during his career, and usually, when a career has been very positive, the character has been used in a positive way.”
Wenger didn’t keep his cards close to his chest before Arsenal signed Aubameyang, which left those in Germany furious.
Wenger dubbed ‘disrespectful’ amid Aubameyang transfer
The comments came before Arsenal paid £60m to sign the striker, which not only shocked fans and reporters, but Dortmund’s hierarchy too.
“We regard it as disrespectful that Arsene Wenger expresses himself about players of other clubs,” a club statement read.
After Wenger’s admission, Dortmund’s former sporting director, Michael Zorc, publicly fumed at the Arsenal manager
“There is no contact on our part with Arsenal. Arsene Wenger certainly has enough currently to deal with the performance of his own players.”
Zorc added that Aubameyang was out of Dortmund’s squad after losing focus amid links to Arsenal, leaving the German club furious at the dealings leading up to his exit.
In a rare act, Wenger commented on a pending transfer, and it landed him in hot water.
It’s no surprise that Arteta takes the same coy approach, given the backlash Wenger received.
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