Magpies boss Benitez full of praise for ‘nice and positive’ Wenger
Rafa Benitez has revealed his respect for Arsene Wenger – and taken a swipe at the likes of Jose Mourinho.
In his spells in England, Spaniard Benitez has clashed with rival managers – Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sam Allardyce in particular.
But as the Newcastle boss prepared for this afternoon’s visit of Wenger’s Arsenal, he admitted: “I always liked the way his team played and his behaviour, because I think he is the one that respects the others. I have a good relationship with him and he’s a good manager. His approach has always been nice and positive.
“He is upset like everyone else when he loses or feels that something is wrong.
“But, for me, there was a big difference between him and maybe the others.’’
Wenger, in charge of Arsenal for almost 22 years, has had to contend with disgruntled Gunners fans campaigning for his departure.
But former Liverpool boss Benitez, who said it was “not fair’’ to discuss talk of him replacing Wenger, added: “I have been at a top side for a while, and you know you have to win.
“Everybody is expecting you to win the league, or the cup or the Champions League, so I know
it’s not easy. At the same time, you know it’s part of the job when you’re at a top side.’’
Despite uncertainty over Newcastle’s future ownership, with Mike Ashley still looking to sell up, Benitez – who only has a year left on his contract – hinted he could be willing to stick around for a decade if Toon can match his ambitions.
A Champions League winner with Liverpool in 2005, Benitez said: “I was thinking about staying 20 years when I was at Liverpool because everything was going well.
“But the change of owners in football now changes everything. So even if you’re doing a good job, you change the owner, change the manager, change the philosophy, change the strategy.
“So it’s very difficult now to have someone with so many years, especially at a top side.
“You can see the similarities between the Liverpool and Newcastle fans. When you have everything in place and you’re winning, you want to stay there forever.
“I like to win and I would like to stay a lot of years at any club that wants to be competitive and progress.
“That means you have to spend some money because, if not, you cannot compete.’’
Arsene Wenger believes Mohamed Elneny is starting to show his best form for Arsenal.
The 25-year-old has had to be happy with a place on the fringes of the Arsenal first-team since joining from Basel in January 2016. But this season the Egypt international has taken on a more pivotal role, especially in the Europa League where he has featured in all of the Gunners games.
Wenger’s side will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-final of that competition later this month, with Elneny no doubt hopeful of being involved.
He set up both of Arsenal’s goals as they came from two down to draw 2-2 with CSKA Moscow in the second-leg of their quarter-final on Thursday, helping the Premier League side to a 6-3 aggregate win.
“He a super-popular player and everybody inside the club loves him,” Wenger said.
“But he’s not only loved, he is also a very good player and he showed that in Moscow. In the second half he played in defence then afterwards, when he moved back into the middle of the park, he gave assists.
“He works hard and is generous. Overall, I think he did very well.”
With 57 caps, Elneny will return to Russia as part of the Egypt World Cup squad this summer and will still be an Arsenal player having extended his contract last month.
Wenger went on to reveal there had been some interest in the midfielder, who saw a late red card in last weekend’s 3-2 win over Southampton rescinded earlier this week.
“I never wanted him to leave, I always wanted him to stay,” the Arsenal boss added.