Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson have now officially been inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
The legendary ex-rivals turned great friends are the first managers to have been voted in and join a club of former players who have decorated the last 25 years of the competition.
Ferguson was unable to attend the ceremony but his old foe, who masterminded Arsenal’s last title-winning season, was there in person as he joined fellow new inductees Rio Ferdinand and Tony Adams.
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‘I’m very happy to join the Premier League Hall of Fame with Sir Alex Ferguson, I must say he is certainly the greatest ever Premier League manager,’ Wenger said.
‘There was a lot of scepticism when I arrived in the Premier League, so I had to gain people’s trust. During the invincible season I discovered what it was like to become a manager without fear.
‘The team went to another level, above ego.’
Asked who he thought will join him in future in being bestowed with the honour, Wenger named Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne given his ‘exceptional decisiveness over the last five years’.
The Belgium star has been in good form in recent weeks for Pep Guardiola’s side who took another step towards retaining the title with a 3-0 victory over West Ham.
De Bruyne missed the game through injury, but Man City made light of his absence as they had a routine victory in which Haaland scored his record breaking 35th goal of the season.
The 22-year-old striker has made a mockery of those doubting whether he could repeat his goalscoring feats after last summer’s move from Borussia Dortmund to the Etihad Stadium.
Haaland took his tally to 51 in all competitions on Wednesday, when his finish moved his Premier League haul on to 35 and broke Andy Cole and Shearer’s competition record.
