Wenger ready to ‘fight’ to end Arsenal crisis

LONDON: Arsene Wenger has grown used to defending himself in recent years but the Arsenal manager’s grip on his position has never seemed less secure ahead of today’s clash with Brighton.

A crushing 3-0 loss against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium on Thursday intensified the criticism directed at Wenger and his players following their limp defeat in the League Cup final at the hands of the same opponents four days previously.

The yawning gap between the two sides underlined how far Arsenal have fallen behind the Premier League leaders and the fact the second game was played out in front of thousands of empty seats added to the sense that Wenger’s 22-year reign is entering its final stage.

Bad weather contributed to the poor attendance in north London, but there is currently no disguising the dissatisfaction felt by many Arsenal supporters at the club’s current lack of progress on the pitch.

Even one of Wenger’s former players, Martin Keown, has urged Arsenal to “throw in the towel” for the Frenchman’s own good.

Yet Wenger is calling for his critics to have a calmer perspective, insisting there is no shame in losing to a team of City’s class.

“You look at the score and the temptation is to think it was all rubbish, but that is not the case,” he said.

“They are a top quality team at the moment, they are many points above everybody else, not only us. That means that’s not a coincidence, they lost only one game in the whole Premier League campaign.”

Wenger’s side lie sixth, 10 points adrift of fourth place going into the latest round of games, with victory in the Europa League now appearing to offer the best chance of returning to the Champions League.

They badly need a victory to restore belief and defeat at the Amex Stadium against a side promoted last season and currently engaged in a fight to avoid an immediate return to the Championship would increase the level of dissent to new levels.

“I’m always ready for a fight. I’m of course very disappointed but I’ve experienced these situations before,” Wenger said.

“I’ve face difficult situations in my life and it helps when you know how to deal with that.”