Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were the 1st managers to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame and rightly so. They are the managers whose rivalry helped build the Premier League into the most successful League in the world.
It’s a more than deserved honour and a most fitting tribute to the managers who won an incredible 16 League titles between them over the course of their tenures with Manchester United and Arsenal.
While SAF also won two Champions Leagues to add to the amazing 13 Premier League titles he won along with 5 FA Cups and 38 trophies in all.
Arsene Wenger took the Gunners to the Champions League final but could not capture European Football’s biggest prize however he took on Ferguson’s teams at their peak and claimed 3 Premier League titles.
Also he won 7 FA Cups and 7 Community Shields to make him the Gunners’ most successful manager of all time.
What did Ferguson think of the “Invincibles”?
Fergie praised the Gunners for achieving the one honour which eluded him during his United career. The legendary United boss has revealed that it is his arch-rival’s ‘Invincible’ season which “stands above” in terms of achievements.
The 2003/04 season saw Wenger’s inimitable Arsenal side go the entire Premier League campaign undefeated. To this day, Arsenal’s season is the only occasion that a team has managed to claim the mantle of ‘invincible’ – no other team has really ever threatened it.
"The achievement stands above everything else" 🙌
Sir Alex Ferguson has always had huge respect for Arsene Wenger and his Invincibles season with @Arsenal 👏 pic.twitter.com/QijvjCUMbn
— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) March 29, 2023
While the Gunners won 26 games and drew 12 games, Wenger’s north London club finished 15 points clear of Ferguson’s Man United side that season. Talking about Wenger’s ultimate accomplishment to Amazon Prime, Ferguson was uncharacteristically open and generous with his praise for his former foe.
The United manager did gain a modicum of revenge as he was in charge when Arsenal suffered defeat in the league after 49 games in October 2004.
The Scotsman said, “I won thirteen leagues, but I was never near going through a season undefeated”.
Ferguson went on to say: “The achievement (Invincible season), it stands aside- stands above everything else and it was Arsenal’s”.
Arsene Wenger changed British football forever
The two managers had a fierce rivalry while they were adversaries but there has been a mellowing with age as Ferguson refers to Wenger as “a great man” these days.
Wenger was the one who transformed the diet, training and behaviour of footballers in the Premier League and will always be remembered for all he did for the game on these shores beyond just his success as the Arsenal boss.