Premier League granted Alex Manninger special exemption after late Arsenal hero’s seismic contribution
Alex Manninger was recognised for his record-breaking contributions during his debut season with Arsenal.
The Austrian goalkeeper, who sadly passed away on Thursday aged 48, spent five years with the Gunners.
During that time, he made a total of 64 appearances across all competitions.
Manninger also won four trophies including a league and cup double in 1998.
His role in both their Premier League and FA Cup triumphs under Arsene Wenger was crucial despite his lack of minutes.
Born in Salzburg, Manninger began his career with local side SV Salzburg, who would later become Red Bull Salzburg in 2005.
It was after moving to Grazer AK that his performances would earn a move to north London, though.
Manninger signed for the Gunners in the summer of 1997 ahead of Wenger’s first full season as manager.
Manninger’s special exemption
Arriving as an understudy to David Seaman, Manninger would serve as Arsenal’s cup goalkeeper during the first half of the campaign.
An injury to the England international would see him thrust into the midst of the Gunners’ title push in January 1998.
Seaman was ruled out for two months as a result of his injury setback, with Manninger finally making his league debut for the club.
He would go on to keep six clean sheets in a row as Arsenal won five of their six Premier League matches whilst Seaman was sidelined.
Their run of six successive league outings without conceding is a joint-club record.
Manninger’s heroics even earned him the Player of the Month award in March 1998.
Seaman would regain his place in the side after returning to fitness as Arsenal continued their march towards the title.
A ten-match winning run which began during Manninger’s run in the side saw them clinch the title with two matches to spare.
With top spot secured, Wenger handed Manninger a recall for a trip to Anfield in May 1998, although Arsenal were beaten 4-0 by Liverpool.
Despite that defeat, they ended the season a point ahead of Manchester United at the Premier League’s summit.
However, Manninger had made just seven league appearances during the title-winning campaign.
As a result, he was not automatically eligible for a winners’ medal due to the threshold being set at ten appearances.
The Premier League subsequently handed Manninger special dispensation, though, due to his significant contributions to the league victory.
Manninger’s heroics during the 1997/98 season also extended to the FA Cup as Arsenal completed a league and cup double.
He featured five times during their run to the final, including a notable performance against West Ham in the quarter-finals.
Arsenal progressed to the last four on penalties after Manninger had saved Eyal Berkovic’s effort from 12 yards.
Manninger’s post-Arsenal career
Manninger would remain at Highbury until July 2002, when he was sold to Spanish side Espanyol.
It followed a season-long loan spell at Fiorentina following the arrival of Richard Wright the previous summer.
Although he initially moved to Spain, Manninger spent the majority of his career in Italy.
He featured for a total of six Italian clubs with stints at Torino, Bologna, Brescia, Siena, Udinese and Juventus.
During his time with Juve, Manninger won the second league title of his career as the Old Lady finished top of Serie A in the 2011/12 season.
His post-Arsenal days also included a return to his first club, now known as Red Bull Salzburg.
Manninger later spent four years in Germany with Augsburg before returning to the Premier League to finish his career.
The veteran keeper joined Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool for the 2016/17 season as cover for Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet.
However, he would end the campaign without making an appearance before retiring aged 40 once the season had concluded.
Manninger, who also won 33 caps for Austria, later worked in furniture and real estate after hanging up his boots.
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