On this day in 1996, Arsene Wenger officially assumed the managerial role at Arsenal.
Born in Strasbourg, Wenger started his footballing journey with FC Duttlenheim back in 1959. The Frenchman enjoyed a very undistinguished career as a player for Mutzig, Mulhouse and Starsbourg before entering football coaching in 1983 as an assistant to Jean-Marc Guillou at Ligue 2 club Cannes.
Wenger’s rigid attention to detail coupled with his desire to bring the best out of everyone helped Cannes reach the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France. Although they failed to win promotion, Wenger’s work on the squad was rewarded with the offer to become the manager of AS Nancy where he spent three years before moving to AS Monaco.