Monday 23 April 2018 22:33, UK
Former Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice says Arsene Wenger altered the way of thinking in English football.
Rice was given the job immediately after Wenger became manager in 1996 and the pair worked alongside each other until 2012 when the Northern Irishman called time on his coaching career.
The former defender, who made over 500 appearances for the club, believes Wenger's achievements at Arsenal are unrivalled.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he said: "In my eyes he is the best Arsenal manager there has ever been.
"Having seen the way he works and the way he treats people, everybody is treated with respect. He always looked after his staff, he is just an incredible manager.
"Everything that he goes in to is researched. When he came to the club all the training schedules were down to the finest minute.
"He changed the food that the players had, he changed the way they were drinking. Cokes and orange and all that stuff went out of the window.
"The foresight that he had was just second to none and he changed the way of people's thinking about football in England, there's absolutely no doubt about that."
Wenger confirmed last Friday that he will step down at the end of the season after leading the club to three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during a 22-year reign.
In recent months he has endured criticism from many Arsenal fans and Rice believes that will have left an impression on the Frenchman.
"I think he would feel very hurt about the reaction he was getting but at the end of the day we all know we are in a business where it can happen to anybody," Rice said.
"It is not the first time it has happened to a football manager but when you think what he has done for our great club it is a shame that it had to end this way.
"I'm just hoping that for the last home game of the season [against Burnley] everybody shows their appreciation to a wonderful man and a tremendous manager."
