Arsenal Invincibles legend Kolo Toure has now lifted the lid on what life was like at the club under the management of Arsene Wenger.
Kolo Toure has now revealed what it was like to work with iconic former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on a day-to-day basis.
Wenger is the greatest and longest-serving manager in the Gunners’ history. The Frenchman was at the helm in North London from 1996 until 2018.
In that period, he won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups. In 2006, he guided Arsenal to the Champions League final for the first, and so far only, time in the club’s history. Wenger was also instrumental in the 2006 move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger transformed Arsenal and had a seismic impact on English football as a whole. He was a Premier League revolutionary and one of the great minds of the modern game. He retains a special connection with Arsenal, and the club recently unveiled a statue of Wenger outside the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta played under Wenger in his playing days at the club and has talked up the stature of his legacy at Arsenal.
Kolo Toure opens up about life under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal
Toure has now reminisced about the ex-manager’s methods. Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, the former defender said, “I think Arsene Wenger, nowadays we can see the modern managers talk a lot tactically, they give a lot of information to the players…Arsene Wenger will not talk about that, but will pick the players which were able to do that job…bringing players together with different qualities to get the high performance way.”
“He knew how to pick his players and put them on the pitch without talking a lot. What he used to say a lot to us, because we used to batter teams, in the first half he’d say ‘stay calm, stay patient, keeping putting the pressure on, the goal will come.’ That was his word, and we always used to score goals in the second half, definitely.”
What did Kolo Toure do after leaving Arsenal?
Toure spent seven seasons on the books at Arsenal, making over 300 appearances for the club. He was a key member of the 2003/04 squad that went through that entire Premier League campaign unbeaten on their way to being crowned champions. That team has now been handed the nickname the ‘Invincibles.’ That season was undoubtedly Wenger’s crowning achievement in his time at Arsenal.
Toure, meanwhile, went on to play for both Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League. He hung up his boots for good in 2017 after a brief spell with Celtic. He has since moved into management, and had a short stint in charge of Wigan Athletic.
Wenger still keeps a close eye on goings on at Arsenal, and will be hoping to see the club land their first Premier League title this season since his Invincibles managed the feat twenty years ago.
Wenger recently confirmed his belief that Arsenal can win the Premier League title this season.
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