The Frenchman Arsène Wenger is the new manager of Arsenal. The choice became clear yesterday when the Highbury club confirmed they had signed two French players, one for £4m.
Arsenal would not have paid out without instructions from a new manager, and the fact that the pair are French and little known outside their own country confirms Wenger’s imminent arrival.
Both are midfielders, Rémi Garde from Wenger’s old club Strasbourg, and the £4m Patrick Vieira from Milan, who both signed before today’s deadline for eligibility for the first three rounds of the Uefa Cup.
Formal confirmation of Wenger’s arrival at Arsenal is being delayed pending agreement on an early release from his contract with the Japanese club Grampus Eight which is due to run out in November.
Vieira, a 20-year-old defensive midfielder, is a rising star, on the fringe of the French national team and, when with Cannes, the youngest captain in French football. He was due to play in the French Olympic team but picked up an injury.
Garde is 30 - bringing to seven the number of 30-plus players in the Arsenal squad - and an international with six caps. He was out of contract at Strasbourg and comes as a free agent under the Bosman ruling.
Yesterday Bruce Rioch was said by the sports lawyer Mel Goldberg to be “very aggrieved and very upset” over his sacking. But Goldberg denied suggestions that Rioch - who is expected to receive a £500,000 pay-off - is planning to sue the club.
The Scot was not given enough time to complete the job, said Goldberg, who added: “Wenger won’t be able to get the team changed in a year and anyway may not be free until November. If that happens a third of the seaon is gone, so I suspect the results won’t be very good.”
Goldberg threw some light on the back-stage tensions at Highbury when he said: “Obviously in the latter days Bruce didn’t get on with the board and one individual in particular.” This was a reference to Arsenal’s vice-chairman David Dein.
Referring to the fact that Arsenal signed only one player, John Lukic on a free transfer, in 14 months, Goldberg said: “After the George Graham debacle a system was put in place whereby the manager chose the players and the list was given to the directors to complete the transfers.
“Assuming Bruce did his job, which I believe he did, the ball was placed in the court of the directors. Whether they did or didn’t do anything is a matter of opinion but clearly they haven’t found anybody at all.”
