Arsenal unveil Arsene Wenger statue outside Emirates Stadium

ENGLAND, July 29: A bronze statue of former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lifting the Premier League trophy was unveiled Friday outside the club's Emirates Stadium.

Wenger won three Premier League titles and the FA Cup seven times while in charge of the Gunners between October 1996 and May 2018.

The Frenchman managed 1,235 matches at Arsenal and helped the club go unbeaten in the league during their 2004 title success with a team known as "The Invincibles."

Arsenal also spent 20 straight seasons in the Champions League under Wenger, including reaching the 2006 final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Barcelona.

The 3.5-metre statue of the 73-year-old Wenger was created by sculptor Jim Guy. It was fixed into position outside the North Bank Stand on Friday morning.

Wenger will be the club's guest of honour for the Emirates Cup match against Monaco on Wednesday and is due to visit the statue in the coming days.

His statue joins five others -- featuring Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Herbert Chapman, Ken Friar and Thierry Henry -- on the podium around the Emirates Stadium.

"He chose me to be one of his players and selected me to be the captain of the club and that's something I will never forget," current Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.

(ESPN)