Arsene Wenger reveals his six favourite goals of his Arsenal reign
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Arsene Wenger has seen a LOT of Arsenal players score a LOT of Arsenal goals.
Yes, the Frenchman has been in charge of The Gunners for so long that Marcus Rashford wasn't even born when he first took charge of the club. But even bearing in mind the length of his reign, the fact an enormous 2,129 Arsenal goals have been scored since Wenger's appointment in October 1996 is pretty remarkable.
It also makes his assessment of Olivier Giroud's scorpion kick against Crystal Palace all the more special.
Asked about Giroud's wondergoal after the match, here's what Wenger had to say:
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"That will be remembered as the Giroud goal that nobody will forget.
"Every striker is certainly remembered for one or two or three special goals and that will certainly remain with him forever.
“I have been spoiled in my career because I had many great players and many great strikers and that is certainly in the top five."
(Photo: Getty)
We put that last bit in bold for a good reason.
Of the 2,129 goals he has seen his various Arsenal sides score over the years, Wenger says Giroud's acrobatic bit of brilliance is among the best five.
Luckily for us, he went on to list the five he had at the top of his own personal list before Giroud's piece of magic…
Dennis Bergkamp vs Leicester, 27 August 1997
(Photo: Getty Images)
There are so many things that are brilliant about this quintessentially Bergkamp goal, it's difficult to believe they all happen within a couple of seconds of each other.
The way he effortlessly controls an average, ever-so-slightly overhit diagonal pass… on the volley. The way that, without the ball touching the floor, he effortlessly makes time and space stand still, as he flicks the ball back past an onrushing defender. The way he calmly manages to act as if this this moment of majestic brilliance hasn't happened and calmly, cooly and smoothly stop, pause for breath, read the paper, have a sandwich and STILL have time to slot the ball past Leicester keeper Kasey Keller.
Oh, and we haven't even mentioned the fact that this was the way he completed his hat-trick…
Dennis Bergkamp vs Newcastle, 2 March 2002
(Photo: Daily Mirror)
Look… he meant it, OK?
Whether you support Arsenal, Chelsea or Tottenham, the time has come for us all to finally agree that when Bergkamp did THAT turn and left Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas wondering what day of the week it was, he knew EXACTLY what he was doing.
Agreed? Yes? Excellent.
Thierry Henry vs Liverpool, 9 April 2004
(Photo: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty)
THE perfect Thierry Henry goal.
Cutting in from the left side? Check. Slaloming past terrified defenders at pace? Check. Making a top-class centre back fall over and look daft (*cough*JamieCarragher*cough*)? Cooly passing the ball into the keeper's bottom left corner? Check.
Making Arsenal fans erupt with joy? CHECK.
Thierry Henry vs Real Madrid, 21 February 2006
(Photo: Daily Mirror)
There are perhaps a few more obvious Henry goals Wenger could have chosen. That crazy flick-up-swivel-and-volley move against Man United. The legendary moment he ran straight through most of the Tottenham team in 2002… and celebrated so wildly, it momentarily seemed he was going to burst out of his own skin.
But for pure, Henry-esque brilliance, you can see why his old boss went for the goal that gave The Gunners a famous 1-0 win in the Bernabeu.
When he gets the ball with his back to goal just inside the Real Madrid half, there doesn't seem to be much on. Seven touches later - yes, just seven - he's beaten the entire Real defence and fired home a left-footed finish.
Class. Pure class.
Kanu vs Chelsea, 23 October 1999
(Photo: Europe)
Knowing how Wenger feels about Chelsea, it's no great shock that he has particularly fond memories about a goal which saw his side come back from 2-0 down to claim a famous 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge.
But that perhaps does a disservice to Kanu's winner - the goal that completed one of the greatest hat-tricks in Premier League history.
Even watching it back now, it's a goal that still doesn't look like it's even possible. In the pouring rain, the Nigerian striker appears to be stuck on the goal line, right on the edge of the penalty area. There is literally no way he can score from there:
And yet…
Olivier Giroud vs Crystal Palace, 1 January 2017
(Photo: CameraSport via Getty)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan?
Olivier Giroud laughs in the face of Henrikh Mkhitaryan…
Those are the Arsenal manager's nominations. Now it's up to YOU to pick the best…