Arsene Wenger is set to be the next Arsenal legend to get his own statue outside the Emirates Stadium, according to reports.
When was the Emirates Stadium built?
The club's iconic manager played a huge part in the move from Highbury to the club's current home, with plans beginning as early as the late 1990s.
Construction of the venue started in 2004 with a total project budget that amounted to £390 million. A few years on, the Emirates Stadium officially opened on the 23rd of July 2006.
Speaking on beIN Sports (via GIVEMESPORT), Wenger said explained his role in pushing for such a big change, noting he felt it was an important step to take even though it made things complicated in terms of on-pitch success.
He said: “I encouraged the club to do it. It cost £200 million more than we expected it to be.
“We were blocked, we could only spend 50% of the turnover on wages. For example, if the turnover was £500 million we could only dedicate £250 million to wages.
“So we always had to sell our best players because the best players want money.”
No doubt, the lack of resources to keep hold of the club's best players, and bring in new top talent, cost Wenger in the later stages of his time with Arsenal.
Even so, he still departed a legend in 2018 having won 17 trophies during his time with the Gunners, which included three Premier Leagues, seven FA Cups and seven Community Shields.
When will Arsene Wenger's Emirates statue be unveiled?
In an exciting new update about the stadium, Connor Humm – who works for Sky Sports – revealed on Twitter that Wenger will be the next Arsenal legend to get a statue, after Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Herbert Chapman.
In full, he explained: "I understand that Arsenal are set to give Arsène Wenger a statue outside the Emirates which will be unveiled on Thursday 3rd August.
"He joins Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Herbert Chapman with a statue outside the stadium."
After noting that this will happen as soon as August 3, in a follow-up Tweet, Humm also reported that the Frenchman is expected to be there at the Emirates for the unveiling in person.
It will be great to see the club legend honoured for all the success he had with the North London outfit between 1996 and 2018, especially as he has only returned to the stadium once since leaving.
Indeed, last season, in December, despite previously saying he had no plans to watch his old side in action, he was in the crowd to watch Arsenal’s Premier League win over West Ham United on Boxing Day.
At the time, current manager Mikel Arteta warmly welcomed Wenger back, saying (via The Athletic): “Hopefully we can bring him close because I think he would have a great time just seeing the environment that he can create around him when he’s around this place.
“That is because of the respect, admiration and love that everybody at the club has for what he’s done and for what he represents as a person in this club.”