Arsene Wenger deserves respect for his outstanding job at Arsenal, says Roy Hodgson

Sport360 staff 00:03 19/01/2018
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  • Hodgson has backed colleague Wenger to turn things around at Arsenal.

    Roy Hodgson said under-fire Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger could lose his next 50 games as a manager and it would not adversely affect his high opinion of him.

    Wenger has been heavily criticised in recent weeks after poor Premier League form and an embarrassing FA Cup exit coincided with him failing to tie star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to new contracts.

    But Crystal Palace manager Hodgson – who takes his side to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday – believes the vilification of Wenger is unjustified and feels the Frenchman stands alongside former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson as one of the greatest modern-day bosses in England.

    “I think there are managers like Arsene who deserve the utmost respect because of what he’s done in the game of football, not least here in England,” said Hodgson.

    “He’s a record-breaker in almost every category and basically the only person in my era who could really hold his hand up and say ‘this guy and I are in the same category’ is Alex Ferguson.

    “He’s been criticised many times in the past but he could lose the next 50 games he ever plays and it certainly wouldn’t change one bit my respect for him as a manager, my respect for him as a person and in particular my respect for the job he’s done at Arsenal, which is something quite outstanding.

    “It’s easy for me to empathise or say good things about a guy like Arsene Wenger because I can’t really understand what there is to say that is not good about him.”

    Sixth-placed Arsenal’s last victory came at Palace when the two clubs met at Selhurst Park on December 28.

    Since then the Gunners have managed just two points from three league games, fallen 23 points adrift of leaders Manchester City and eight behind the top four, as well as suffering a cup upset at Championship side Nottingham Forest.

    Hodgson’s resurgent Eagles have registered seven points from a possible nine in the same period to move clear of the bottom three, although he insists they are still fighting to stay in the top flight and cannot afford to become complacent.

    He said: “The fact is we’re still in a relegation battle, we’re not alone now, we’re a little bit less isolated than we were some weeks and months ago and we’re happy, of course, about that.

    “We’re not looking up at all the teams above us but we’re still in a bigger group of teams now who must be aware that unless they can keep their form going, unless they can keep points coming in, unless they can keep performances at the very highest level, they’re going to be involved in a scrap to stay in the league right to the end.”

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