Wenger nears 20-year Gunners stay

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
  • Post published:September 23, 2016

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is sceptical another manager will match his feat of spending 20 years at a club owing to the demanding nature of society.

The Gunners boss will celebrate his landmark feat on October the first, having guided the side to three Premier League titles and six FA Cups during his tenure. The Frenchman also took his club to the Champions League final in 2006, where they lost to Barcelona.

Wenger’s 20-year stay has been the longest stint at a club in England since legendary Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson finally called time on his career with the Red Devils.

Now, the manager has stated he believes it is unlikely another coach will reach the landmark anytime soon owing to the pressure for clubs to perform at the top.

‘I can imagine another manager staying for 20 years, but it is very unlikely,’ Wenger told beIN Sports. 

‘Football is changing very quickly. Society has changed and people are now very demanding. People are more opinionated and want to be more involved in the current affairs of a club.’

Wenger explained managers face more challenges than ever before, particularly from outsiders with no insight as to the inner workings at clubs.

‘They want to decide much more. But there’s nothing more dangerous than superficial knowledge and inside a club now you need to be stronger than ever and not make stupid decisions. You have to respect a club’s guidelines and have strong personalities inside.’

Arsenal last won the league back in the 2003-04 season and Wenger has admitted he has had to deal with criticism from sections of his own supporters ever since.

‘I hear my critics, of course. I believe when you have been at a club for a long time it would be very dangerous not to listen to critics at all. You have to take a step back, look at things from a distance and analyse things objectively.’

Arsenal have rebounded after a poor start to the 2016-17 season and currently sit in fourth on the table with 10 points from five matches played.