Pens, round tables and parking spaces - How Wenger created Arsenal culture

Few clubs pride themselves on history, tradition and values as much as Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger embraced that when he arrived in 1996 and his hospitality by making every visitor to the stadium or the training ground was at the heart of that.

Club values and DNA is an often used phrase in football. But what does it actually mean? And can one person set the tone for a whole club? Wenger's ideal was that it could - and that should be his legacy.

For example, there is one special way players are welcomed into The Arsenal Way with a unique touch which every new signing is given when they join the club.

They are given a "signing pen" with their name, date and Arsenal Football Club engraved which was designed to play into the club's tradition and values.

Arsenal's former transfer fixer Dick Law revealed: "It was Stuart Wiseley who was in the finance department at the time who came up with the suggestion to have 'signing pens' ready for the player, his agent and members of his family as a memento of the day.

"The Club Secretary's office went off in search of a vendor and from then on, First Team and Academy players had a tangible memory of the day they signed their contract - name, date and Arsenal Football Club engraved on the pen. The Arsenal Way."

It was those personal touches that the club has always prided itself on and it was Wenger who put so much thought and design into even the smallest touches at the training ground.

Among the painstaking planning saw Wenger insist upon:

ROUND tables in the training ground dining room so no one person would be considered at the head of the table

THERE were no assigned spaces in the car park and Wenger himself drove the same car for many years while Gilberto Silva drove a BMW 3 series from his first day to last

ORGANISING every visitor personally rather than ask his personal assistant to do it to make the guests feel special. They even welcomed Toyota boss Akio Toyoda and several colleagues to London Colney in October 2016 as they wanted to pay respects to Wenger 20 years after he left Grampus Eight for Arsenal

INSPECTING samples of tile materials in different colours, samples of cutlery, even samples of the tables and chairs while also demanding to look at cupboards for each room and what would be inside.

THE main building became sacrosanct with no agents, journalists or hangers-on allowed as they had to report to the media building on the opposite side of the car park.

A PERSONAL touch even in the directors' box as even an hour before kick-off, Wenger would go round the tables and stop for a chat with all of the guests. The Manager's Table was next to the managing director and chairman's table as a mark of respect for his role in making he stadium happen.

Law recalls: "It is difficult to explain how values permeate an organisation. Powerful values like respect for others, having a personal touch, restraint in your personal behaviour, simplicity, modesty, and frugality can move from department to department until it raises the awareness everywhere.

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"Arsène excelled at the practice of management by 'walking around.' The pressures of any high-profile management position can often drive individuals to isolate themselves in their office.

"Arsène was a constant presence: in staff offices, the kit room even the laundry room. The message was clear - the 'gaffer' - was interested in all aspects of the football department and more importantly, was visible."

But Wenger also made his presence felt among the hierarchy at the Emirates to make every person feel special when they visited the stadium or the training ground.

Law said: "Sometimes as late as an hour before every home game, Wenger was in the Director's Box directors' lounge, quietly going round the tables to make everyone feel special by stopping for a chat, saying hello and making conversation.

"This personal touch made the experience of attending an Arsenal match in the Director's Box unique. Visitors felt valued and respected.

"During these walk-arounds, Arsène was the embodiment of the club's class. To my knowledge, no other coach or Manager in top flight football makes a point of being a part of the club's identity.

"When the new training ground at London Colney was built, the dining room was central to the design. Arsène planned a space with key features: no physical barriers and where you sat defined your status.

"The Academy players sat at the north end of the dining room and the First Team at the other end. Food was served from a buffet that served all players equally. But there was an unspoken rule. Academy players sat together with the Academy staff and the First Team sat together with the First Team staff.

"The Training Ground dining room was to be a comfortable space. The visual perception created by the space was equally important to Arsène: open, high ceilings, lots of light and a view of the training pitches.

"The Manager's Table at London Colney, the Arsenal training ground, was the reference point in the room. It seated six comfortably, eight in a pinch. More than that, it was elbows all tucked in.

"Seated with him were the first team staff who would arrive at various intervals after training and with some frequency, Arsène's guests. More importantly, it was a vantage point for Arsène to see who was coming and going.

"But the attention to detail became a lesson in management for all the staff. Sean O'Connor, the new facilities manager, was directed by Arsène to bring him samples of tile materials in different colours, samples of cutlery, even samples of the tables and chairs. Arsène insisted on round tables to minimise hierarchy. In a circle, there is no 'head of the table.'"

Those guests were a broad range of football legends, managers and businessmen who formed a fascinating who's who - but it was always Wenger who organised it.

Law said: "When it came to inviting a personal guest to Colney, Arsène did it himself. Not once did his Personal Assistant organise things. When another coach, player or friend showed up, it was because Arsène had organised it.

"Arsène's guests ranged from the prominent sports figures to close personal figures. Eddie Jones, Avram Grant, Christian Karembeu, Sami Hyypia, Paul McGinley or AP McCoy. The most notable guest, however, was in October 2016.

"Mr. Akio Toyoda and the senior management of the Toyota Corporation had flown overnight from Japan to pay their respects to Arsène on the 20th anniversary of his leaving Nagoya Grampus Eight and joining Arsenal.

"Arsène's respect for Japan and the Japanese people is well reported but it was still a remarkable moment to see one of the leading business figures in the world at London Colney.

"They watched training, had lunch, visited with Arsène in his office and flew back to Japan. The Manager's Table barely had enough room even with elbows tucked in."

Wenger's eye for detail and perfection was crucial. He inherited head groundsman Steve Braddock when he arrived and Paul Burgess later joined but they were also perfectionists and would put almost more importance on the training pitch than at the stadium.

And despite knowing their place in the dining room at the training ground, there was one special incentive for the academy players when it came to their pitches.

"The Academy players trained less than 100 yards away from the First Team and many an Academy player was surprised one morning when they were directed to train with the First Team," recalled Law. "Arsène wanted the young players to see the First Team as an aspirational goal."

Wenger also tried to keep the training ground special. "You were only there by invitation It was a special place," said Law.

"When I became responsible for football operations at Arsenal in August 2009, Arsène and I discussed where to locate his office. Both agreed that receiving agents in and around the main building would be a problem.

"Agents, even the best behaved, would find it irresistible to approach other players. We decided to put my office in the Media Building, a safe distance from players and staff.

"Simplicity and restraint were the tone of the Training Ground. The entrance from Bell Lane was easy to miss as there was no sign. The only indication that this small lane was might be the entrance to a football club was a sign telling fans that players would not stop for autographs.

"There were no assigned parking spaces in the first team car park. Arsène drove the same car for years and to some extent, set the tone. The best example might be Gilberto Silva who from the first to the last day at Arsenal, drove a BMW 300 series.

"For every employee in the football department, Arsène had a single instruction - 'do your job.' In a world defined by the last playing result, people tend to second-guess others or worse, meddle in someone else's area of responsibility."

When people talk about a club's values or DNA, it is often difficult to describe what that actually means other than something which has become rather cliched.

But in Arsenal's case in the Wenger era, those values are best explained by the simple but classy touch of one of the true greats of the English game.