A familiar photo from football’s past has resurfaced once again – two young boys caught in a grainy photo.
Both are unknowingly standing at the start of journeys that would one day shape the modern game.
But this time, the internet has latched onto something else entirely.
One-word answer is No. Arsène Wenger was never in that picture.
The viral image featured a young Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso during their initial days at Antiguoko in San Sebastián, and is completely bona fide.
However, the person spotted in the background – often claimed to be Wenger by the netizens – is nothing more than an illusion, sometimes edited, sometimes simply misidentified to fuel things up among the masses.
So why has this harmless image created such a buzz?
The answer lies in the layers of the context attached to it.
Wenger’s perceived presence in the background fits perfectly in the folklore of football.
After all, he would later go on to sign Arteta, have a long association, make him the captain, and Arteta, in return, played a defining role that shapes his footballing philosophy.
This pushes the narrative of Wenger spotting him as a child, which feeds into the myth of his legendary scouting.
Over the years, fans have exaggerated this narrative.
At the same time, the image gains more traction when we look at who is standing beside Arteta.
The newly appointed Chelsea manager, Xabi Alonso, is not just his childhood teammate – he is a lifelong friend.
Their football journey started together; they grew up from the same roots before their careers took different paths across Europe.
Now, that chapter is getting a new life.
With Alonso taking charge of Chelsea from next season, now both friends will be geared up to go against each other regularly in the Premier League.
What was once a nostalgic childhood moment would suddenly become symbolic of a high-stakes managerial rivalry.
For Alonso, the added pressure from himself will always be there.
Before his difficult times managing Real Madrid, he was widely regarded as one of the most exciting young coaches, rightfully so after his historic success with Bayer Leverkusen.
Now moving to his next chapter of coaching tenure, this serves as a fresh chance and a challenge to overcome after that setback.
With this contest, the image feels more theatrical.
Two future geniuses, caught in time as children, unknowingly headed towards a shared destiny.
And as far as Wenger’s presence is concerned, that remains a firm territory in the realm of internet humour.
