Arsene Wenger returned to the Emirates Stadium on Monday night, and his reaction to being serenaded by the fans was caught on camera.

Former Arsenal's French head coach Arsene Wenger watches the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 26, 2022. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger watches the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and West Ham United at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 26, 2022. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)

Since leaving Arsenal back in 2018, Arsene Wenger hadn’t returned to the club for well over four years. Not just in an official capacity, but the manager also hadn’t attended a game as a fan.

Explaining that decision, Wenger said he was trying to avoid becoming a distraction, allowing the club “a chance to rebuild a new connection with the new manager”.

But Mikel Arteta has always insisted he’d like to see the 73-year-old back in the stands and inspiring the players.

Arteta got his wish on Monday night, as Wenger decided to turn up for Arsenal’s game against West Ham United. For a while, his presence was kept quiet, but supporters spotted him on the big screens celebrating one of the Gunners’ goals.

The fans began to sing Wenger’s old chant, and one supporter caught the former manager’s reaction on video.

Once he caught on to what the fans were singing, Wenger smiled and looked around, before waving in appreciation.

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Ex Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger watches on from the stands during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger watches on from the stands during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on December 26, 2022. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Arteta explained after the game that they’d deliberately kept Wenger’s visit quiet to avoid it becoming a distraction, which seemed to work quite nicely. His presence only became known to the fans in the ground once Arsenal were already ahead.

After the game, Wenger went into the Arsenal dressing room to meet some of the players, who posted pictures on their social media pages.

The meeting should give the squad a bit of a boost ahead of a very tricky run of fixtures coming up, now it’s up to them to keep this title race going.

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