Legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that Cristiano Ronaldo came close to joining the Gunners until Premier League rivals Manchester United swooped in on him. Wenger told TalkSPORT that he regrets not signing Ronaldo because the five-time Ballon D’or winner was close to joining him in North London. According to the Frenchman, he wished Ronaldo was added to the Invincibles.
Wenger was the architect of one of the biggest teams ever seen in English football during the 2003/04 season. He masterminded affairs from the dugout as Arsenal went through the season with an unbeaten record on the way to winning the Premier League title. Frenchman Wenger won his third and final Premier League title during the unbeaten season.
Arsenal appointed Wenger as their manager in September 1996 and he was a relatively unknown quantity to both the players and the fans at the time. Wenger didn’t start the 1996/97 season, but still manage to lead the team to third place at the end of the season as Manchester United won the Premier League title.
In his first full season, Wenger led Arsenal to the Premier League title. It was the first league title for the Gunners in the Premier League era. As a matter of fact, Arsenal finished the season with a Premier League and FA Cup double.
Wenger sealed a second Premier League title during the 2001/02 season without losing any game away from home. The Frenchman won the second Premier League and FA Cup double of his Arsenal tenure during that season.
At the end of his tenure at Arsenal, Wenger had won three Premier League titles and six FA Cup titles. It must be pointed out that Wenger and Arsenal were presented with a golden trophy when the team went through the season without a single defeat.