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Arsène Who?: The Story of Wenger's 1998 Double
Nobody had heard of Arsène Wenger when he took charge of Arsenal in October 1996. 'Arsène Who?' was the headline. Yet within less than two full seasons, he transformed an underperforming side into league and FA Cup winners, in the process playing with breath-taking style, sparking an epoch-defining rivalry with Alex Ferguson and Manchester United and modernising football in England with his ground-breaking methods.
Built around over 150 exclusive interviews with key players, coaches, staff and opponents, and rich in behind-the-scenes stories, personal accounts of triumph, tragedy, hilarity and heartbreak, Arsène Who? relives Arsenal's rocky road to the 1998 Double and the inception of the Wenger revolution.
It is a portrait of a collection of troubled and ageing stars who bonded with foreign newcomers to achieve immortality. It is a snapshot of a shifting cultural and sporting landscape epitomised by the Gunners' rise. And it is the tale of an unheralded mastermind who guided his team to new heights.
Arsène Who? is the inside story of how Wenger took Arsenal to the top of English football and changed the game forever.
Built around over 150 exclusive interviews with key players, coaches, staff and opponents, and rich in behind-the-scenes stories, personal accounts of triumph, tragedy, hilarity and heartbreak, Arsène Who? relives Arsenal's rocky road to the 1998 Double and the inception of the Wenger revolution.
It is a portrait of a collection of troubled and ageing stars who bonded with foreign newcomers to achieve immortality. It is a snapshot of a shifting cultural and sporting landscape epitomised by the Gunners' rise. And it is the tale of an unheralded mastermind who guided his team to new heights.
Arsène Who? is the inside story of how Wenger took Arsenal to the top of English football and changed the game forever.
- GenresFootball
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 12, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 28, 2025
A must-read for any Arsenal fan. I was pleasantly surprised and the vivid prose in which it was written made me feel like I was reliving moments of Arsenal’s past which I was unfortunately not here for!
For reference for any Gooners, I actually enjoyed this more than Arsene’s autobiography.
For reference for any Gooners, I actually enjoyed this more than Arsene’s autobiography.
December 1, 2024
As a Forest fan in the late 90s, I was more concerned about my team’s imminent removal from the premiership than the changes being made at Arsenal. However I was aware for the impact Wenger made in his second season. I watched the FA Cup at the end of the 1997/98 season, with my uni mates. Admittedly none of us were affiliated to either club but I was more on the side of the Magpies as I had a soft spot for Alan Shearer and ex-Forest favourite Stuart Pearce. But the way Arsenal played was something, oh my!
Back to the book…..
In a time when the world didn’t have the instant access to sports news and gossip, Arsène Wenger was an unknown when he came to Arsenal. Yes he’d been at Monaco previously but knowledge of the football world outside the UK was limited, not like it is today where you can google (other search engines are available) a name and you get their history instantly. The majority of footballers and managers have their own wiki page but a lot has change in the past 25/30 years and not just in the way we devour information.
“He was a revelation really says Lee Dixon”
This is a fascinating read. Baldi doesn’t just look at Wenger and the impact he had on the Gunners. Baldi gave me the stories of the players I knew from the era both the Arsenal mainstay and those Wenger brought into the side. I learnt how they viewed this French man and how they dealt with his changes to in the main, these very British men. Men used to a beer or five after a match, men used to a full greasy English fry up on a Saturday morning, men not used to Pilates and stretching.
Baldi not only gave me the attitudes towards Wenger and his newfangled managerial methods, I got the opinions of the Arsenal stalwarts to the incoming players. The “sulky”, the “business like” European players not used to the camaraderie of the dressing room at Highbury. Baldi didn’t just give me the highs of the new regime. There was the teething problems and the games that blatantly didn’t go their way.
Wenger’s legacy, as one of the few non-British/Irish managers in the Premiership at the time, remains today. He was a trailblazer in many ways either his changes and he’s led the assault on the premiership of “foreign” managers. Baldi’s analysis of this is in depth but factual. He interviewed those in and around the Arsenal camp at the time. He got the anecdotes, the stories direct from “the horse’s mouth” so to speak.
This is an informative and entertaining read for any football fan. The noticeable change in football management and information divulgence makes this an educational read but in a way that is enjoyable for both Gunners fans and those who have an interest in the sport. Baldi blatantly has a passion for football in his writing and I’d read more from him! Highly recommended for any Arsenal or football fan!
Back to the book…..
In a time when the world didn’t have the instant access to sports news and gossip, Arsène Wenger was an unknown when he came to Arsenal. Yes he’d been at Monaco previously but knowledge of the football world outside the UK was limited, not like it is today where you can google (other search engines are available) a name and you get their history instantly. The majority of footballers and managers have their own wiki page but a lot has change in the past 25/30 years and not just in the way we devour information.
“He was a revelation really says Lee Dixon”
This is a fascinating read. Baldi doesn’t just look at Wenger and the impact he had on the Gunners. Baldi gave me the stories of the players I knew from the era both the Arsenal mainstay and those Wenger brought into the side. I learnt how they viewed this French man and how they dealt with his changes to in the main, these very British men. Men used to a beer or five after a match, men used to a full greasy English fry up on a Saturday morning, men not used to Pilates and stretching.
Baldi not only gave me the attitudes towards Wenger and his newfangled managerial methods, I got the opinions of the Arsenal stalwarts to the incoming players. The “sulky”, the “business like” European players not used to the camaraderie of the dressing room at Highbury. Baldi didn’t just give me the highs of the new regime. There was the teething problems and the games that blatantly didn’t go their way.
Wenger’s legacy, as one of the few non-British/Irish managers in the Premiership at the time, remains today. He was a trailblazer in many ways either his changes and he’s led the assault on the premiership of “foreign” managers. Baldi’s analysis of this is in depth but factual. He interviewed those in and around the Arsenal camp at the time. He got the anecdotes, the stories direct from “the horse’s mouth” so to speak.
This is an informative and entertaining read for any football fan. The noticeable change in football management and information divulgence makes this an educational read but in a way that is enjoyable for both Gunners fans and those who have an interest in the sport. Baldi blatantly has a passion for football in his writing and I’d read more from him! Highly recommended for any Arsenal or football fan!
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April 9, 2024A book about Arsene Wenger's arrival at Arsenal and his first season and a half but mostly focused on the 97-98 Double winning season. There are fresh interviews with former players such as Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Ian Wright, Ray Parlour, David Platt, Emmanuel Petit, Marc Overmars, Alex Manninger and less heralded ones such as Alberto Mendez and Adrian Clarke. As well as other influential figures such as Pat Rice and David Dein. For other players and of course the subject of the book itself, Arsene Wenger, the author has used quotes from previous books/autobiographies. And there is also some insight from former opponents about what it was like playing against that Arsenal team.
I'm not going to give this a rating because for an Arsenal fan such as myself, there was a lot of information that was already known to me so it would be unfair to stick a number* in my review. I have probably read about 50% of the books referenced in the Bibliography. So for me, I didn't get that much extra from this book although I liked some of the newer insight from players like Overmars, Platt and Manninger who I haven't heard much from over the years. But for a neutral supporter or a younger Arsenal fan who hasn't read as many of the books from this period then I think this would be an interesting read that they would take something from.
I'm not going to give this a rating because for an Arsenal fan such as myself, there was a lot of information that was already known to me so it would be unfair to stick a number* in my review. I have probably read about 50% of the books referenced in the Bibliography. So for me, I didn't get that much extra from this book although I liked some of the newer insight from players like Overmars, Platt and Manninger who I haven't heard much from over the years. But for a neutral supporter or a younger Arsenal fan who hasn't read as many of the books from this period then I think this would be an interesting read that they would take something from.
October 18, 2024
Being a huge arsenal fan, I couldn't wait to read this book and discover more about the story of Arsene wenger.
There's not a lot I don't know about arsenal as a team or their managers and players past or present. But from reading this book proved that I didn't know everything about Arsene Wenger and his time spent at Arsenal football club.
This book was full of interesting and detailed facts. I really like the insight from the different players that reigned under Arsene Wenger at his time with Arsenal and found the book was well researched.
Whether you're a huge Arsenal fan like me or just like following football and its history, then I would highly recommend this read.
There's not a lot I don't know about arsenal as a team or their managers and players past or present. But from reading this book proved that I didn't know everything about Arsene Wenger and his time spent at Arsenal football club.
This book was full of interesting and detailed facts. I really like the insight from the different players that reigned under Arsene Wenger at his time with Arsenal and found the book was well researched.
Whether you're a huge Arsenal fan like me or just like following football and its history, then I would highly recommend this read.
October 15, 2024
Whilst I'm far from being an Arsenal supporter, I do like the beautiful game and I found Arsène Who? absolutely fascinating.
Baldi's memoirs of Wenger's time at Highbury are in depth, knowledgeable and had me riveted to the pages.
I loved reading all the behind the scenes stuff which focused not only on Wenger but also the team players of the time; Merson, Adams, and Wright to name but a few. It talks of their addictions, the road to recovery and the journey to winning the 1998 double.
It comes complete with quips and quotes from players and other influential figures, and there is a seemingly large amount of reference material taken from other books to fill the pages.
Wenger certainly is an interesting man and I thoroughly enjoyed following his story.
Baldi's memoirs of Wenger's time at Highbury are in depth, knowledgeable and had me riveted to the pages.
I loved reading all the behind the scenes stuff which focused not only on Wenger but also the team players of the time; Merson, Adams, and Wright to name but a few. It talks of their addictions, the road to recovery and the journey to winning the 1998 double.
It comes complete with quips and quotes from players and other influential figures, and there is a seemingly large amount of reference material taken from other books to fill the pages.
Wenger certainly is an interesting man and I thoroughly enjoyed following his story.
May 4, 2024
An insightful recount of the Arsenal 1998 double winning side. It was interesting to read about Arsenes impact on the club and how he changed the English game
October 12, 2024
How Arsene Wenger revolutionised Arsenal and led them to a double in 1997-98 season.
October 25, 2024
Nostalgic look back at 90's football , the start of the Wenger revolution at Arsenal
January 27, 2025
When I get a biographical or documentary book, like such, the first thing I do is peruse the photographs. Not in a Gaston-esque way, but it's because it's a gift and it's quite rude to grab it and go sit in the quiet to start reading. I was disappointed with the photographs, which are all fairly commonplace to someone who - as mostly everyone in Ryan Baldi's target demographic - is very familiar with soccer nostalgia pages on Twitter.
That would, however, be my only asterisk to the book. Baldi is a very good writer. He can transform dull information in stories in a very seamless way, and the host of guests he summoned helped to give the book a full, round body. (Yes - I am applying adjectives that are better suited for a wine, but Arsenal and round-bodied wines are both mostly red.). Special shout out to Lee Dixon, who piped in about almost every topic, especially anecdotes about other players.
I'm not even an Arsenal fan, but this book is amazing and I have immediately ordered Baldi's previous one about Man U's treble (not a Man U fan either).
That would, however, be my only asterisk to the book. Baldi is a very good writer. He can transform dull information in stories in a very seamless way, and the host of guests he summoned helped to give the book a full, round body. (Yes - I am applying adjectives that are better suited for a wine, but Arsenal and round-bodied wines are both mostly red.). Special shout out to Lee Dixon, who piped in about almost every topic, especially anecdotes about other players.
I'm not even an Arsenal fan, but this book is amazing and I have immediately ordered Baldi's previous one about Man U's treble (not a Man U fan either).
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews