Mild-mannered professor? Not on your nelly! Arsene Wenger's Top 10 rows

By Dan Silver in Mirror Football Blog

Published 14:48 10/03/11

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For such a superficially mild-mannered man, Arsene Wenger doesn't half seem to wind people up.

When he arrived in England in 1996 as an unknown, bespectacled Frenchman who looked like a geography teacher, the media quickly pigeon-holed Wenger as a brainy, urbane, considered man who, with a masters degree and six languages, would surely be above the petty bickering that consumes English football.

But no, in his 15-odd years at Arsenal, Wenger has shown himself to be more petty than Tom and has picked fights with a fair few folk over the years.

And in the wake of his decision to go to war with UEFA following Arsenal's controversial Champions League defeat in Barcelona, here's Arsene's all-time Top 10 strops and spats:

10) Wenger vs Phil Brown (Part I)
Wenger has something of a reputation for not shaking rival managers' hands - more of which later - but the first recorded incident came after Hull's surprise 2-1 win at the Emirates in September 2008. Wenger was probably just as stunned as the rest of us after Geovanni's late winner - although perhaps he just didn't want to get his hand covered in fake tan...

9) Wenger vs Phil Brown (Part II)
Hull's next visit to Arsenal was even worse. This time the Gunners won, knocking Hull out of the FA Cup in the process, but again Wenger failed to shake Brown's hand after the Hull boss accused Cesc Fabregas of spitting at his assistant. The Arsenal manager said he had gone to the visitors' dressing room at full-time. "There was no one there," he said. "Why should I wait?" was Brown's retort.

8) Wenger vs Martin Jol
It is perhaps indicative of the differing fortunes of Arsenal and Tottenham over the past decade or so that Wenger has not had more rows with his opposite number at Spurs, but in 2006 he clashed with Martin Jol as the two teams jostled for the last Champions League spot.

In a heated derby at White Hart Lane, Wenger was incensed when Robbie Keane scored the opener while two Arsenal players lay injured on the turf.

With more front than Jordan, Wenger accused Jol and the Spurs players of lying when they said they didn't see the fallen Gunners.

"I can't believe they didn't see it. Of course they lie," he said.

7) Wenger vs Sam Allardyce
A clash of personalities, styles, ethos, head size, and just about everything else, Big Sam was a constant thorn in Wenger's side while at Bolton. Already wound up by Allardyce's claims in the media that Arsenal were famous for intimidating referees, Wenger attacked Bolton's style after a 1-1 draw in 2003, accusing them of kicking Arsenal out of the title race.

6) Wenger vs the Special one
When Chelsea started threatening Arsenal's position of top London team, Wenger started to get riled by Jose Mourinho's brash style. The Chelsea boss hit back, claiming the Frenchman had an "unprofessional obsession" with Chelsea and branded him a "voyeur". Wenger said his comments were "disrespectful".

5) Wenger vs Martin Taylor
Understandably upset at a terribly late challenge from the Birmingham defender, which left Eduardo with a broken leg, Wenger called for a lifetime ban for Taylor.

"I think this guy should never play football again. What's he doing on the pitch?" he said, adding: "I've gone along with the idea for a long time that to stop Arsenal, you have to kick Arsenal. I knew that was coming for a long time now."

4) Wenger vs Alan Pardew
Things got physical when West Ham boss Pardew celebrated his team's late winning goal at the Emirates with a little too much vigour for Arsene's liking. After a little bit of pushing and shoving on the touchline, they were separated by the fourth official. Needless to say, Wenger refused to shake Pardew's hand afterwards, and was later fined £10,000.

3) Wenger vs Fergie (Part 1)
They're best buds(ish) now, of course, but it was pretty much war from day one with these two. Wenger kicked things off in April 1997 when he said: "It's wrong the league programme is extended so Manchester United can rest up and win everything." Fergie hit back with the brilliantly patronising retort: "He's a novice - he should keep his opinions to Japanese football."

2) Wenger vs Mark Hughes
The antagonistic build-up to Arsenal's 2009 Carling Cup defeat by Manchester City had been dominated by the ill-feeling between Gunners fans and their former striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who had moved on to City, but on the night the real flashpoint came courtesy of the two managers.

Hughes allegedly abused the Arsenal manager during the course of the game and Wenger dusted off his cold shoulder trick at the final whistle. And then all hell broke loose...

Hughes deemed Wenger a bad loser in his post-match interview - something the Frenchman immediately copped to - and then the media got stuck in, demonising the Arsenal boss and escalating his refusal to shake hands into a diplomatic incident that threatened to derail Anglo-Franco relations for good. And then Sparky got the sack and everyone promptly forgot about it.

1) Wenger vs Fergie (Part II)
After United finally ended Arsenal's 49-game unbeaten run, it all proved too much for Wenger, who accused Ruud van Nistelrooy of being a "cheat" before the infamous 'pizzagate' fracas broke out in the tunnel.

Fergie later claimed: "In the tunnel Wenger was criticising my players, calling them cheats, so I told him to leave them alone and behave himself. He ran at me with hands raised saying: 'What do you want to do about it?'"

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