Lee Dixon: The Genius Of Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has confounded the pundits this season by producing an Arsenal side which is sitting top of the English Premier League, despite seemingly spending little cash and having few stars. Their position comes as no surprise, however, to Wenger’s former right- back Lee Dixon.

"He’s a student of the game," says Dixon, in Dubai for a stint as a pundit on Showtime’s Premier League coverage.

"On his day off he watches football videos and on his night off... well he never has a night off, that’s what he’s like. He’s given his life to it. He sees watching videos as time to himself and while he’s doing it he’s learning. He hasn’t got all the answers, but he wants them all," adds Dixon, who made 458 appearances for the Gunners between 1988 and 2002.

Wenger’s obsession with the game still doesn’t explain how he keeps bringing such unknown talents as Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Eboue to the club for nominal fees and turning them into world-class players.

But Dixon knows Wenger’s method inside-out. "He’s been criticised for not signing the big players, but you can’t knock his record. He doesn’t make many mistakes.

"He’s got a knack of being able to spot a player, not just how they play, but the character of the player and what makes the player tick and that has to fit in with his philosophy of football.

"He has a huge world-wide scouting network and he does his research. He knows the player before they arrive. He takes them and he plonks them in an environment that gives them every possible opportunity to improve and develop," adds Dixon.

"And he doesn’t do it by coaching them necessarily. He’ll put sessions on the coaching ground, sure, but he doesn’t stand there blowing his whistle, saying you’re not doing this or that right. He just expects you to go into the team frame and play.

"If you don’t learn from what’s going on around you and improve, then you don’t play. It’s as simple as that.

"But the players who have come and not settled in, they’re few and far between – and that’s the genius of Wenger."