Wenger bemoans ‘age discrimination’ amid uncertainty
ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger is ready to accept the consequences of poor results but believes increasing speculation over his future at the club is due to “age discrimination”.
Although Arsenal are set to finish their 14th straight season without winning the Premier League title, 68-year- old Wenger claims the demands for him to leave have grown in recent years because of prejudice against older managers.
“You focus on doing well for your club and ignore all the rest,” he told BeIN Sport.
“Overall the older you get the more it becomes a little bit age discrimination.
“I can accept that if the results are not good enough... but overall that perpetual thing of a link with how long you’ve been at the club, how old you are, I find that a bit difficult to take.”
Since taking charge of Arsenal in 1996, Wenger has led the club to three league titles and seven FA Cups wins but has failed to deliver success in European competitions.
The Frenchman said finishing the season with a Europa League win, and subsequent qualification for the Champions League as a result, would not change his opinion on what he has given to the club over the years.
“I am naive enough to believe that with the time going on, the perspective, the emotional context going, it will stand out what I’ve done for my club, not so much the last result or the last game I won or how much I’ve been applauded,” Wenger added.
“I’m a little bit fed up with all that modern thing of completely taking care of your image. I’ve always worked my whole life with the idea it’s more important who you are than how you look.” — Reuters