Fred Atkins

Arsenal Fred Atkins

THE Royal Arsenal, for most of its existence, produced weapons destined to kill Frenchmen. In 1886 its workers formed a football club that would become one of the most powerful in England, but it was a Frenchman who a century later turned Arsenal into one of the most popular teams in France - and the world. Arsenal's French Evolution is the story of the men behind this transformation, especially Arsene Wenger, whose father cheated death on the Russian front and who himself had to battle corruption and match-fixing in French Football before becoming one of the world's greatest managers. This book, which doubles as a potted history of French football, has profiles of every French Arsenal player, including detailed chapters on Emmanuel Petit and the mutliple tragedies he endured, the circus that surrounded Nicolas Anelka and the bizarre rage of William Gallas. Read about the mercenaries, the players who didn't make it, the unsung heroes like Sylvain Wiltord and above all relive the greatness of Petit, Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira.