Wenger matches Sir Alex's Premier League record for longevity
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and former Manchester United managerial foe Sir Alex Ferguson will eternally be linked as the Premier League's two longest-serving bosses.
For the time being, the tactical tandem also share a record, with Wenger matching Ferguson's 810 Premier League matches in charge after the Frenchman was at the Gunners' helm for Thursday's visit to Crystal Palace.
Since joining the north London lot in October 1996, Wenger has been privy to 467 league victories, 145 defeats, and 197 draws, whilst winning the top flight on three occasions, including the "Invicibles" unbeaten campaign of 2003-04 that spearheaded a Premier League-record 49-match unbeaten run.
The 68-year-old has also lifted a record seven FA Cups, seven Community Shields, and made the Champions League final once, losing to Barcelona 2-1 in 2006 after Arsenal shot-stopper Jens Lehmann was sent off for bringing down Samuel Eto'o outside the area.
Credited with both introducing cutting-edge, health-conscious diets and fluid, panache-ridden football to the English top flight, Wenger was initially praised for his frugal approach to transfers and its impact on the subsequent construction of the Emirates Stadium. The second half of Wenger's two-decades-plus tenure has seen the angular former midfielder come under criticism for tactical stubbornness and for the same autonomous, penny-pinching approach to commerce that he was once lauded for.
Wenger will get an opportunity to break the record when Arsenal visits the Hawthorns to face lowly West Brom on Sunday.