Clichy wants trophy tribute to AW

30 September 2009 18:11
Wenger, who has not tasted a league or cup success since 2005, this week overtakes George Allison as Arsenal's longest-serving manager and the Frenchman insists he has no thoughts of retiring yet. Clichy and his young team-mates are determined to repay Wenger's faith in them by earning him more silverware in his 13th year after arriving to England. "It is incredible," Clichy said. "That shows you the class of the manager. We know that it is important for the club to keep Arsene Wenger as a manager. "He always kept faith in the young players. In the last few years, we haven't won anything and people talk bad about him. But we have to think about what he has done for the club. "He has been here 13 years and I think Arsenal is today one of the best clubs in Europe and a big part of that is because of the boss. "I think we have to support him - the players want to play for him and win something for him so I think it is going to be a great season." Wenger's finest season was 2003/04 when his Invincibles went unbeaten on their way to the Premier League title, with Clichy playing his part after arriving from Cannes for £250,000. The FA Cup the follow season was the last trophy Wenger won, with his team guilty of failing to kill off teams in recent campaigns. It seemed to be the same story against Olympiacos in the Champions League this week, until Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin struck late to reward Arsenal's dominance. "I've been here for six years and he is always pushing for us to play this kind of football," Clichy said. "Against Olympiacos we showed we can do things and play great football - the kind that people want to see. When we have some luck we can score goals. "The only thing the manager says is just play the way we play and if we take it game after game we know we will have a great season. "We have the quality to do it but we have to keep going." Wenger's record surpasses Allison's reign between 1934 and 1947. The Frenchman has been credited with changing attitudes towards foreign managers and his reputation in the transfer market was forged after taking Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry while they were struggling and turning them into Premier League legends. "He has always been supportive to all the players, giving confidence to the younger and older players," Clichy said. "The passion he puts into the game shows and at training he is the first to arrive and the last to leave. For me he is one of the best anagers in Europe. "He is really human. If he has only one word, it is true. He brought a lot of players in like Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry - I could be speaking all night naming the players he brought in. "He brought us here and we have all been playing together for four or five years and of course we have faith in him. We play because we want to give him the confidence he has given us. "The way he thinks about football and life is a great thing. Maybe for some people it would be better to be more pushing the player and getting more angry but I think overall, 13 years he has been here and you cannot say the way he manages the team is not good because he has done incredibly well and we respect him." For players such as Emmanuel Eboue, who came to England as a youngster, Wenger has been a father figure. "I can't forget him because he helped me a lot," Eboue said. "He helped the team and the young players which has been very important. "He did something very good for the club so we have to give him respect. He is like our dad. In the team he is our dad because any time we do a little bit wrong he calls to speak to us."

Source: Team_Talk