JUDGE & FURY
Wenger’s anger at being held to ‘different standards’ to Spurs and Liverpool, who have failed to win a single trophy in the last four seasons
ARSENE WENGER insists Arsenal are judged by different standards compared to rivals Tottenham and Liverpool.
While the Gunners have won three FA Cups in the last four years, Wenger claims the media “celebrate” other clubs, despite them not winning trophies. Liverpool have not won the title since 1990, Tottenham have managed just one League Cup in the last 19 years and yet Wenger reckons they always get better headlines and coverage than his team. Wenger admitted that he thinks even winning the League Cup this season – while some of their rivals finish empty-handed – would not be enough to change the mood of negativity among some Arsenal fans. The Gunners boss said: “To change the mood? I have no illusions at all. The mood is decided by you [the Press].” When it was pointed out that some Arsenal followers were even getting impatient during Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, Wenger added: “That’s the best example. Out of 100, even if 10 have a negative mood, the 10 get your ear more than the 90. “Look, we have been in a few finals. Has it changed your mood? No. You celebrate some teams who have not been in a final for 25 years and yet you kill us even though we have won the FA Cup three times in the last four years. We have to live with that.”
It has been a long-running frustration of Wenger that he thinks other teams get off lightly compared to Arsenal.
It clearly irks him that Mauricio Pochettino gets lauded in some quarters, even though he has not won a trophy for Tottenham.
Jurgen Klopp is loved by Liverpool supporters, even though Anfield has not seen a title-winning team in 28 years and their latest manager has lost his two cup finals since coming to English football. But Wenger, the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history – after three titles and a record-breaking seven FA Cups in 21 years – is written off as a washed-up failure. The FA Cup has often been a game-changer for Arsenal, but that has gone and he will have to rely on the League Cup this time – a trophy he has never won before. Wenger made it clear that he thinks the majority of Arsenal fans are still on board, but, whether or not that is true, their patience has been tested by the sale of Alexis Sanchez even if Henrikh Mkhitaryan (left) has arrived in exchange.
Mkhitaryan is not eligible to play