Arsene Wenger still dreams of Champions League glory ten seasons after Arsenal fell at the final hurdle

Burning desire: Wenger after their defeat to Barcelona in the 2006 final
Getty
James Olley16 September 2015

Tonight's game against Dinamo Zagreb marks the 10th anniversary of the start of a Champions League campaign that saw Arsenal go closer than ever before to winning Europe’s premier prize.

The 2005-06 campaign finished with a 2-1 Final defeat to Barcelona in Paris that caused manager Arsene Wenger to react in a manner that has perhaps reached the point of parody for many.

“We are already strong and sometimes if you can transform you frustration at defeat in such a game as this then you can come back stronger — and we will do that,” said Wenger at the Stade de France.

There has been little in the intervening decade to support that sentiment but plenty of repetition of the rhetoric.

The Gunners have been knocked out at the last 16 stage in six of the subsequent nine seasons, including each of the last five, and they begin their 18th consecutive group stage campaign at Dinamo Zagreb this evening as best-priced 25-1 shots to end Wenger’s wait for a maiden Champions League crown.

The Frenchman has turned down lucrative offers during turbulent periods to manage other clubs. There are a significant amount of Arsenal supporters who wish he would vacate his throne now to give someone else a go but either way, the uneasy alliance has endured for another year.

Whatever his shortcomings as Arsenal boss, Wenger remains revered the world over — as autograph hunters masquerading as journalists at last night’s press conference proved — and he has stayed put, not solely because of the autonomy he enjoys, but also because of the burning desire within to achieve the ultimate prize that has so far proved beyond the club’s grasp.

“This drive to win the Champions League is immense,” he told Standard Sport. “I believe that first of all, it has never been done at Arsenal. We were very, very, very close [in 2006] but on the other hand, I am long enough in the job to know you have to be realistic and know that you put hard work in.

All aboard: Arsenal departed from Luton Airport on Tuesday
Getty

“This is a championship and after the cup competition starts if you get out of the championship. Let’s focus on that first. We are ambitious but we are not dreamers.”

So why should it be any different this time? Wenger is already under pressure to justify Arsenal’s status as the only club in Europe’s top five leagues not to sign an outfield player but he has genuine faith in this squad’s strength in depth.

That will be tested to a degree this evening with Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin left behind, “two or three changes” likely to occur in the starting eleven and the familiar refrain of manager and captain left to defend suggestions a perennially injured colleague may never reach his potential.

Jack Wilshere’s surgery on a fibula injury overshadowed Arsenal’s pre-match press conference here in the Croatian capital and only added to the sense of deja vu Arsenal must break to engender genuine progress in this competition.

An authoritative performance against Dinamo is required to set the tone for a Group F campaign in which they are already underdogs to win. Bayern Munich’s presence put paid to any such favouritism but Arsenal’s aggregate scores against the German giants have not been insurmountable and a strong showing against the other sides could give them a chance of that coveted top spot.

Dinamo have won the Croatian league title for 10 consecutive years and not lost a game for 41 matches, having gone through last season’s domestic campaign unbeaten.

Yet the strength of that form is questionable considering they had to negotiate three Champions League qualifying rounds to reach this point and that they have not won a game in the competition proper in 15 matches dating back to 1999.

Arsenal’s consistency in this competition is remarkable and yet they are perpetually attempting to escape the shadow of perceived under-achievement. Last season’s away goals defeat to Monaco still rankles with many at the club and Wenger said: “If we missed one game last year in the Champions League, it was our home game against Monaco because we were not patient enough and wanted to make the difference in the first game. We know we have somewhere to put that right.”

That process begins now.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in