Football news - Arsene Wenger says the criticism aimed at him during his final years at Arsenal was 'quite harsh'
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ByEurosport
Updated 21/09/2021 at 13:42 GMT
Wenger won seven FA Cups and three Premier League titles during his Arsenal tenure before stepping down in 2018. However, the club's failure to mount a serious title challenge after the club moved from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in 2006 led to frustration amongst supporters. Calls grew for him to leave the north London club in his final years in charge. Wenger has hit back at his critics.
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Arsene Wenger believes the criticism aimed at him during the final years of his 22-year stint in charge of Arsenal was "quite harsh".
Arsenal finished last season in eighth position under current boss Mikel Arteta, their worst league campaign for 25 years, and have not won a Premier League title since 'The Invincibles' 2002/03 season.
Wenger feels ill-feeling towards him during the last seasons of his tenure was unfair.
"I think people are quite harsh about the last years," he told The Telegraph.
"In 2016 we finished second in the league. Leicester won but other teams were behind Leicester as well, and Leicester only lost three games.
"In 2017 we did not qualify for the top four for the first time in 20 years but we got 75 points.
"People don't realise. We won the [FA] Cup against Chelsea who had just won the championship and had the chance of winning the double.
"And after, in 2018, we lost the League Cup final against (Manchester) City, we lost in the semi-final of the Europa League against Atletico Madrid but by just one goal.
"But look, I gave the best years of my career to develop what I think is important - the stadium and pay it back and put the club in a position where it was capable of facing the future and had the potential to do well.
At the end of the day, above all, we won and what I am most proud about is putting the club in that position.
Wenger now acts as the chief of global football development at FIFA and has faced fresh criticism for controversially proposing a World Cup be held every two years.
Football's governing bodies are set to discuss his ideas at an online summit on September 30.
When asked about his plans, Wenger replied: "It is only my proposal! I don't make that decision. It's for the whole football world to decide."
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