![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Wenger-Bergkamp.jpg?resize=500%2C301&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nThose of you who are regulars on scoial media will, no doubt, have seen photoshopped pictures of Arsene Wenger apparently signing Dennis Bergkamp. These usually surface on Dennis’ birthday or 20 June when he was signed, with a caption such as: “Arsene Wenger’s greatest signing.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, one signing that has always been considered a Wenger signing may have actually happened whilst Bruce Rioch was still the\u00a0Arsenal manager.<\/p>\n
During the summer of 1996 the relationship between Arsenal\u2019s board of directors and incumbent manager Bruce Rioch became strained due to the latter\u2019s procrastination in signing the contract that had been negotiated between the two parties a year previously and the lack of regular communication between the two parties.<\/p>\n Rioch finally signed the contract at the end of July. He was summoned to Highbury on 12 August, expecting to witness the directors countersign his contract. However, by 3.57pm he was Arsenal’s ex-manager.<\/p>\n This started a series of events that, without the benefit of hindsight, was construed as farcical. The day after Rioch\u2019s departure the club made two announcements. The first was that Rioch\u2019s not particularly inspiring assistant, Stewart Houston, was put in temporary charge of the team. If this didn\u2019t confound the Arsenal fans then later that day most would be perplexed when, with the media speculating that Johan Cruyff was favourite to take over, they were told that the new manager would be Arsene Wenger. Most would echo the Evening Standard billboards:<\/p>\n ARSENE WHO?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It should be noted that this headline never actually appeared in the paper itself.<\/p>\n Arsenal also signed two new players on the day that Rioch was sacked – Remi Garde and Patrick Vieira – apparently on Wenger’s recommendation. Vieira’s transfer was most strange. In an interview later that week he said that negotiations had taken place whilst Arsenal were playing in Florence on 7 August – five days before Rioch’s departure!<\/p>\n This must have meant that the Arsenal board knew at that time that they were looking to give Rioch the boot and bring in Wenger. If Rioch had read the Daily Mirror on 10 August he should have twigged that his time was up. Unless, of course, Vieira was a player that Rioch wanted to sign!<\/p>\n In fact, with Vieira signing on the same day that Rioch was sacked he may have been signed whilst Rioch was still manager, technically making him a Rioch signing!<\/p>\n We’re looking forward to seeing some photoshopped pictures of Bruce Rioch signing Patrick Vieira on 23 June!<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013 Those of you who are regulars on scoial media will, no doubt, have seen photoshopped pictures of Arsene Wenger apparently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[671,676,695],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arsene-wenger","category-bruce-rioch","category-players-v"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p87inb-9fZ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35569,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35569","url_meta":{"origin":35587,"position":0},"title":"Arsene Wenger – 20 years at Arsenal Could Have Been Just Six Weeks","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"10 November 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Arsene Wenger Gives The Media A Bloody Nose Today, Arsene Wenger celebrates 20 years as Arsenal manager. It\u2019s been an unusual era that has left Arsenal fans divided on whether or not he should have been in charge for the whole of this period. However, his tenure almost ended within\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arsene Wenger"","block_context":{"text":"Arsene Wenger","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=671"},"img":{"alt_text":"1996-11-08-daily-mail","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/1996-11-08-Daily-Mail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36241,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=36241","url_meta":{"origin":35587,"position":1},"title":"Steve Braddock – The Arsenal Obituary 2022","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"31 December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Steve Braddock 1964 \u2013 2022 Born on 6 February 1964 in Hatfield, Steve was one of the most influential football groundsmen in the country, if not the most influential. An Arsenal fan who, when taken to his first ever match at Highbury as a boy, remembered the beautiful grass, not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Steve Braddock\"","block_context":{"text":"Steve Braddock","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?tag=steve-braddock"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/steve-braddock-photo-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36234,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=36234","url_meta":{"origin":35587,"position":2},"title":"Steve Rowley – The Arsenal Obituary 2022","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"31 December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Steve Rowley 1980-2017 Born on 2 December 1958 in Romford, Steve spent 37 years at Arsenal as assistant youth development officer, first team assessor and then chief scout. He was responsible for bringing many players to the club. Linked to the club from 1979, he started out as a part\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Steve Rowley\"","block_context":{"text":"Steve Rowley","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?tag=steve-rowley"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2001-02-Arsenal-Handbook-19-Copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":36239,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=36239","url_meta":{"origin":35587,"position":3},"title":"Terry Neill – The Arsenal Obituary 2022","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"31 December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"485: William John Terence \u2018Terry\u2019 Neill \u2013 1959-1970 and 1976-1983 Ulsterman Neill was something of a cup specialist during his time in charge of the club, guiding the side to four cup finals in seven and a half seasons, winning the 1979 FA Cup. Born in Belfast on 8 May,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Terry Neill\"","block_context":{"text":"Terry Neill","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?tag=terry-neill"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/skysports-terry-neill-arsenal_5848186.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":35341,"url":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?p=35341","url_meta":{"origin":35587,"position":4},"title":"A tribute to Leroy Rosenior: the man who did so much for Arsenal","author":"arsenalcollection","date":"11 January 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Kelly \u201cWhy on Earth are you writing about Leroy Rosenior on an Arsenal history site?\u201d you are probably thinking. 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Arsenals first major\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest News"","block_context":{"text":"Latest News","link":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/?cat=91"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header7.jpg?fit=1052%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header7.jpg?fit=1052%2C420&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header7.jpg?fit=1052%2C420&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header7.jpg?fit=1052%2C420&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/header7.jpg?fit=1052%2C420&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35587"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54975,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35587\/revisions\/54975"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/1996-08-14-The-Sun-1.jpg?resize=368%2C429&ssl=1\")
\n
![\"Daily](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1996-08-16-Daily-Mirror-Vieira-signing.jpg?resize=455%2C262&ssl=1\")
![\"Daily](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/1996-08-10-Daily-Mirror-Rioch-to-sign-Vieira.jpg?resize=248%2C1255&ssl=1\")
\nCopies of our books Royal Arsenal \u2013 Champions of the South<\/a> and Arsenal: The Complete Record 1886-2018<\/a> are still available from the publishers.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thearsenalcollection.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Books.png?resize=600%2C418&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"