Arsene Wenger will not take criticism from major shareholder Alisher Usmanov personally, but has told everyone involved with
Uzbek oil magnate Usmanov – whose Red White Holdings Group has just over a 30 per cent stake in the Gunners parent company – was interviewed by American broadcaster CNBC in which he questioned the direction of the club suggesting Wenger’s mistakes were never properly evaluated which was standing in the way of them challenging Europe’s other leading sides.
Wenger, now the longest-serving manager in the top flight, has enough experience not to take anything to heart, with the 2-1 Premier League home defeat to Manchester United on Saturday having attracted plenty of negative headlines.
The Gunners boss, though, believes such public statements and suggestions of crisis talks with the board do little to benefit the
team, who host Borussia Dortmund on tonight looking to secure a place in the last 16 of the Champions League once again.
“When you are such a long time in football as I am, you don’t understand any more what crisis means. I must get to the dictionary and look at it well again,” said Wenger.
“During the 18 years I have been here I have shown that I can take criticism. Everybody has the right to have an opinion, having said that, we have values at this club.
“The first one is when we go through a difficult patch, we show solidarity. That is a very important one. The second one is that, when you have something to say to each other, we say it face to face. We don’t need to go to the newspapers.
“I don’t take the comments personally at all. It is an opinion that I respect, but when you are from this club, you are from this club. You are in or out, you cannot be both.”
Opponents Borussia Dortmund have already qualified for the knockout stage although are not yet guaranteed as group winners.
Arsenal only need a point to confirm their place in the last 16, while a win would ensure they still have a chance of topping Group D.
Dortmund have excelled so far in the Champions League against the backdrop of an indifferent league campaign where they are 16th in the Bundesliga and totally out of the title race.
Manager Jurgen Klopp – who also played down reports of him taking a job in the Premier League, said: “We have to use the game to gain stability for the Bundesliga. We cannot change the situation – so for me it’s a little bit like a holiday.”
