Wenger hails Arsenal for ignoring calls to sack him

Arsene Wenger has hailed Arsenal for bucking the trend when it comes to constantly changing managers and refusing to bow to pressure.

The Gunners boss will write his own piece of history on Sunday when he takes in a meeting with West Brom.

That contest will be his 811th Premier League game at the helm, edging him ahead of legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson in terms of longevity.

Wenger has spent over 20 years in north London and has praised his board for acknowledging the need for stability amid recent calls for him to be moved on and a new man brought in.

The Frenchman told Arsenal’s official website: “We always come back to the same thing: I feel that the most important thing is that competent people and technical stability is absolutely vital for a club. You need people to carry the values of the club for generations.

“If you change all the 20 managers in the middle of the season, you will still have three teams who go down and only one champion.

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“We see now the pressure is on every club to change their manager very quickly and then people sit there but who [comes next]? You can see most of the time they turn to managers who have been sacked somewhere else, so it is a problem.

“The most important thing today is to be strong inside clubs to resist that kind of pressure and stress.”

Wenger’s commitment to Arsenal has never wavered, with protests against him in 2016-17 shrugged off to secure FA Cup success and a new two-year contract.

He is now fully focused on guiding the club towards a bright future, with the 68-year-old as motivated by the challenges which lie ahead as he has ever been.

“That’s why it’s never boring,” added Wenger.

“No matter how long you are in this game you cannot predict what will happen and that’s why we come back for more. We try to dominate this animal, but we never manage to do it completely.”