Wengrow is entering his 75th season as an Arsenal supporter. He has witnessed the barren years, the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph, the 1971 double, the glory of Arsene Wenger's reign and, now, Arsenal finally reclaiming the Premier League title under Mikel Arteta.
The conversation with Wengrow took place before Arsenal completed their breakthrough, when he was already convinced that Arteta had rebuilt the club into a serious force. What has happened since has only strengthened the case: Arsenal ended their 22-year wait for the league title and then reached the Champions League final, losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
"I'm a massive fan of Mikel Arteta," he tells Football Presse.
"I'm not a person who thinks coming second. Some are saying now, including top pundits and supporters, you can't keep coming second, you've got to win. I understand that, but I don't actually agree with it."
"You've got to look at what we were up against. A Man City team that won that league four times on the trot."
That might sound straightforward, but Wengrow's assessment comes after seven decades of watching Arsenal managers come and go. He has seen George Graham turn the club into a trophy-winning machine, Wenger transform its football and Arteta rebuild it from one of its lowest points into a side capable of winning the Premier League and reaching the biggest game in European club football. Arsenal's title was their first in 22 years.
"You've got to have silverware to be successful. There has to be something to touch it."
That was Wengrow's position before Arsenal finally got their hands on the Premier League trophy. Now there is no argument to be made about potential or progress: Arteta has delivered the silverware Wengrow always said was the missing piece.
"I'm a massive fan of Arteta. I don't know who I'd rather take to replace him, to be truthful with you."
Wengrow's belief in Arteta was built during the years when Arsenal repeatedly fell short against Manchester City. Those near-misses are now part of the backstory to a title-winning side rather than evidence that the project had stalled.
Arsenal's spending has been significant under Arteta, but Wengrow argues that the manager's achievement has to be viewed in the context of the challenge City presented.
"I'm not saying we haven't spent money. Arteta, over the last few years, rebuilding the team, we've spent a lot of money, but nothing like Man City spent building his team."
"I think when you take all that on board, and other injuries as well, I think we've done okay. I'm a massive fan of Arteta. I don't know who I'd rather take to replace him, to be truthful with you."
Before the breakthrough, Wengrow also pointed to the adversity Arsenal had endured.
His prediction of where Arteta could take Arsenal has now been answered. The Premier League title was followed by a Champions League run that ended only in the final, where Paris Saint-Germain prevailed on penalties.
That faith is significant because Wengrow has a very different view of the final years of Wenger's Arsenal.
"I think, being generous, he's there for at least five years too long."
"Obviously, he was losing his way. The younger coaches were coming through — Mourinho, Conte and others as well. Younger coaches were coming through that were way ahead of Wenger."
For Wengrow, the problem was not simply that Wenger's methods had become outdated. He believes the manager's personality prevented Arsenal from adapting.
"I've always felt Wenger had a massive ego. He could have easily brought in a top young coach to work alongside him."
"If he had not had the ego that he had and brought in a top young coach, Wenger could still be there today."
"Alex Ferguson kept changing his coaches. Wenger would never do that. His ego wouldn't allow it."
Wengrow sees something very different in Arteta, particularly in the way the Arsenal manager works with his coaching staff during matches.
"Look at Arteta now. His animation, speaking to Albert Stuivenberg. The whole time they're exchanging views, commenting about the game as they're going on."
"Whatever they're talking about, they're talking to somebody. Arsene Wenger didn't want that. He didn't want anybody else to come in."
"Steve Bould was sitting there like a dead body next to Arsene Wenger."
For a supporter who lived through Arsenal's most celebrated eras, there is another reason to believe Arteta has restored something important to the club: belief.
Wengrow remembers an Arsenal that once struggled even to dream of Wembley.
"As a kid and as a young man, I never ever thought I'd see Arsenal play at Wembley."
That makes his assessment of the modern club all the more interesting. He has seen Arsenal go from years of frustration to becoming champions again, and from a club that once struggled even to imagine Wembley to one that has now reached the Champions League final.
And the thing Wengrow always wanted to see is now sitting in the Emirates trophy cabinet.
"You've got to have silverware to be successful. There has to be something to touch it."
The Community Shield offers Arsenal their first opportunity of the new season to defend that status against Manchester City. The match pits the Premier League champions against the FA Cup winners at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.
For Wengrow, though, the bigger picture matters more. Arsenal are no longer merely building towards something.
After 75 seasons, he has watched Arsenal evolve through some of the greatest eras in the club's history and now return to the very top under Arteta.
Arteta has the title — and a Champions League final appearance — to show just how far Arsenal have come.
Martin Wengrove's book "My Arsenal Life: Doubles, Invincibles, Glory and Despair" is from Pitch Publishing - which is available here.
