'I'm not Arsene Wenger, I want to win' - Mancini launches attack on Arsenal boss

23/02/2013 7:05:00 AM

The 48-year-old has criticised the Frenchman for his unwillingness to publicly challenge his players, while he also revealed his desire to continue working in the Premier League

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has launched a stinging attack on Arsene Wenger, suggesting the Italian’s willingness to publicly criticise his players is the key difference between the pair.

The Arsenal boss has always publicly defended his players, in stark contrast to Mancini who has criticised his players in front of the media on occasion this season.

However, the Italian believes his willingness to motivate his players through the press symbolises a will to win that is inherently lacking at the Emirates Stadium.


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"I'm not Arsene Wenger. We're different. I want to win," Mancini told The Guardian. "I think every player should be strong enough to take his responsibility and, like this, you can improve.

"You don't improve if you have a manager saying 'ah, don't worry, you made a mistake but it doesn't matter."

Mancini also suggested that continuity is the key to a club’s success, citing the example of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and questioning Chelsea’s decision to sack Carlo Ancelotti in 2011.

He added: "For me, Carlo [Ancelotti] was the strange one. Carlo is one of the best managers in the world for me. He won the league and the FA Cup and then they sacked him.

"It's difficult for a club that change every year, every two years. [Sir Alex] Ferguson's a totally different situation because he started to work for United in a different time. Now he's like a seat in the stadium, the grass on the pitch. He's part of United."

When speaking about his own role, the 48-year-old stated his desire to continue working in the Premier League, describing it as the place "every manager wants to be".

"I want to continue my work," he continued. "I always wanted to work in England. I have a good feeling here.

"There might not be 100 restaurants but I have no problem with it. I like to go out on my bike. That's when I do my thinking. Two or three hours on the roads. That's when you get time and you can think without problems.

"In Italy, the press is different because all the journalists think they are all managers. Not only the journalists, in fact. We have 55 million football managers in Italy. In England it's different.

"England is the place where every manager wants to be, in front of 40 or 50,000 people every week. It's beautiful."