FRANK SINATRA might be gone but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is keeping alive the Ol' Blue Eyes doctrine: I did it my way.
The Frenchman was handed a massive task when he came to Highbury 19 months ago, inheriting a side that showed all traditional Gunner grit but seemed light years behind Manchester United. Wenger soon realised he had a firm foundation to build on, but there was no temptation to play it safe. In came Marc Overmars, Emmanuel Petit and Nicolas Anelka as he created a thing of footballing beauty. Gunners fans will think it a joy for ever if The Double is secured against Newcastle this afternoon.
Every manager can only be successful if he gets his team to play the way that he holds deeply within himself, Wenger claimed. When I came to the club I didn't consider too much what had been the style before, although I was aware of the tradition and heritage. I knew that the only chance we had of being successful was by playing how I felt we should. That's why we played the way we played. I respect what happened before because the club was successful. But we played the kind of football we did because it was the way we could be successful. I would not change my philosophy.''
This is not the blinkered pursuit of good football at the expense of success, though. ''I knew that if we'd been entertaining but not won anything it would be turned against me, he said. There are some clubs where success is compulsory, where if you don't win you'll get reproached. I accept that. If we'd had a season like we did and not won anything it would've been frustrating.''
The Double could be only 90 minutes away, Wenger is refusing to allow himself to be distracted by the FA Cup Final hype and hoopla. ''I switch off from it because I know I must concentrate on what I have to do and not what it means for people - if you don't it will drive you mad,'' he explained. ''When you watch somebody driving a Formula One car round a Grand Prix track you ask yourself why he's not scared, how he can do it. But when you ask him, he'll tell you it's because he just concentrates on what he has to do, thinks about the next curve. When you are a football manager, it's the same. It's hard to get away from the environment around you, but you learn that you have to do it. I've got to get with the business of winning it, that's my job.''
Not just a job, it's more a labour of love for the former Monaco boss: ''You're a manager because you love to win. That's the only thing that lets you survive. I believe that every career is made of winning and losing. But the people who learn from losing win more than those who don't. The quality of the players and their spirit is the most important. Even if you're a winner as a manager, you won't be unless the players are winners too.
And even as his players possibly cavort around Wembley with the FA Cup at five o'clock this afternoon, Wenger will be starting to work on what lies ahead: signing new players to keep the Gunners ahead of the pack, planning for the Champions League: As soon as it is over, I will be looking ahead. Maybe that's where my job drives me on all the time too much - I don't remember what I did five years ago. No matter what happens at Wembley, I will be looking in front for the next one.''