Arsenal manager’s send off covered from every angle imaginable

Sunday was a special day for Arsenal football club and an emotional day for anyone who’s followed the Premier League for the last 22 years.

This was Arsene Wenger’s last home game as manager of the Gunners, and his achievements were celebrated by a full house at the Emirates Stadium and beamed into the homes of millions more.

Beyond Wenger’s many achievements in that time, however, perhaps the most important is the fact that the Frenchman is a huge figure in British sporting and cultural life – there aren’t many people who have made a life in a new country and who can say that they’ve made such a positive mark on their adopted home.

Arsenal’s social media team knew this day was coming for a few weeks after the Gunners boss announced his retirement and as a whole, the club had plenty prepared to mark the occasion.

The place to be was the Emirates Stadium, where Arsene Wenger gave a heartbreaking goodbye speech. It’s never easy for anyone to walk away from something they’ve been doing for a whole 22 years, and the Frenchman handled it with such great dignity and clarity as he told the fans he’d miss them.

On Twitter, the official Arsenal account was able to clip up the video as it was happening in order to bring fans following on social media the best bits.

Indeed, video isn’t the only way Arsenal brought proceedings to life on social media.

The beauty of Twitter is that it allows a club to produce mixed media content to allow people to consume the moment in a variety of different ways. If you’re watching on TV, you can relive video clips on a second screen or you can find new meaning in what you’ve just seen by reading the words through text in image or tweet form, or even just seeing a photograph from a different angle.

The Gunners’ account even transcribed the boss’s words to create an article on their website, really allowing fans to see proceedings from all angles.

Amidst all of the love for Arsene Wenger, it wasn’t just a day of goodbyes for one man. Indeed, the long-serving member of the club’s backroom staff Vic Akers was given a send-off, as was defender Per Mertesacker who served the club with distinction over the years and will now be involved with the academy.

The day was also marked by the appearance of Santi Cazorla, a much-loved midfielder who suffered a horrible injury and who hasn’t been able to play over the past year or so. Arsenal fans will be hoping to see him back playing on the Emirates pitch again someday, but just watching him join the lap of honour was emotional.

It was a big day for Arsenal, and any Gunners fans waking up on a bank holiday Monday and checking out the club’s Twitter account will be able to relive Sunday’s celebrations and goodbyes from almost any angle imaginable.

About author

Chris McMullan
Chris McMullan 831 posts

Chris is a sports journalist and editor of Digital Sport - follow him on Twitter @CJMcMullan_

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