Ferguson, Wenger Reacts To Becoming The First Managers To Be Inducted Into The Premier League "Hall Of Fame."

Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have both officially been inducted into the English Premier League Hall of Fame.

The legendary duo becomes the first two managers to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame launched in 2021, recognises people who have made a significant contribution to the Premier League, and is the highest individual honour awarded by the English top flight.

Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer were the inaugural inductees before David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Eric Cantona, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, and Frank Lampard completed the “Class of 2021.”

In 2022, Didier Drogba, Sergio Aguero, and Paul Scholes were added to the list alongside Vincent Kompany, Ian Wright, Peter Schmeichel, Wayne Rooney and Patrick Vieira. 

The new batch of inductees was announced in a post on the league’s Twitter handle on Wednesday.

Both Ferguson and Wenger are widely considered to be the greatest managers of all time.

Ferguson who is a former manager of Manchester United, is by far the most successful manager in Premier League history with a record 13 league titles. 

He led Man United to their first Premier League title in 1992/93, their first since 1967.

The Scots was in charge of the Red Devils for 27 years (from 1986 to 2013), winning three league titles in a row on two separate occasions, and 528 wins from 810 matches. He was the manger of the side for 21 Premier League seasons.

"I'm truly delighted to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame. It's an honour when you receive recognition like this," Sir Alex said.

"However, it's not just about me as a person. It's about the job at Manchester United and the bond we had over many years, so I'm also proud for the club, the staff and my players.

"My job was to send the fans home happy. United's history and my own expectations were the things that drove me and I then had to try and develop all my players with the same expectations and make sure we could go out and achieve them.”

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger on the other hand, was in charge of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018. He was one of the Premier League’s first foreign managers in 1996 and stayed until 2018. His 22-seasons stay at Arsenal is a Premier League record.

The Frenchman is the league’s most experienced manager with 828 games, winning 476 of them plus three titles.

He won three league titles, and his last league title was when he led the Gunners to the famous “Invincible” league title in 2003/2004, becoming the only team to finish the domestic campaign without a single defeat throughout the entire season.

"I am very grateful to have been selected for the Premier League Hall of Fame," Wenger said. 

"We always wanted to give something special to the fans and when you have players capable of remarkable things, the most important thing for me is the obligation of perfection.

"I'd like to be known as someone who loved Arsenal, who respected the values of the club and left it in a position where it can grow and become even bigger... Added the 73-year-old, who is currently FIFA’s football development chief.

"To share this with Sir Alex is a great honour for me. It's like two boxers, you fight like mad and go the distance together. At the end of the day, you have respect and it will be a great opportunity to meet with him, share a good bottle of wine and memories of our old battles."

Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters also shared his thoughts on this occasion.

"Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger both made a remarkable contribution to the history of football in this country," he said. 

"They brought unparalleled levels of success to Manchester United and Arsenal respectively, raising standards and thrilling fans with a rivalry which resulted in an astonishing 16 title wins between them."