From 'donkey' to thoroughbred: how Wenger's Invincibles rewrote English football's aesthetic

A pastiche of Total Football

Wenger's aesthetic playing style was encapsulated upon securing his first Premier League title in 1998, with a pastiche of Total Football that culminated in Steve Bould drifting out of the back four to chip a pass on to the advancing Tony Adams, who finished perfectly in a 4-0 win over Everton.

“Would you believe it?!” said a stunned Martin Tyler in commentary, reflecting the views of the nation. “That sums it all up.” Derided as a donkey, Adams had become a thoroughbred.

Grafting a foreign core on to an English spine

Wenger's genius was in maintaining an English core to his early side, grafting on Patrick Vieira, Emmanuel Petit and Marc Overmars and allowing Dennis Bergkamp to flourish.

“There were rumours that he was advised to get rid of the back four,” said Nigel Winterburn, part of that legendary quartet. “But I think he made his own decisions when he saw the players playing and training, and saw the desire they had.”

Later Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg would arrive to reach the even greater heights of the Invincibles, a side whose combination of English resilience and continental craft became the template for the modern Premier League.

The seamless blend — an English core reborn alongside a French and Dutch influx — was the on-pitch expression of the cultural revolution Wenger had begun the moment David Dein uttered his now-famous reassurance about a certain “world-class” arrival.