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28 March 2024

Arsenal owner hails 'great' Wenger

Wenger has received the backing of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke. (FILE)

Published
By Staff

Arsene Wenger has been hailed as “one of the great managers in the world” by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke.

Kroenke, an American business entrepreneur and majority shareholder in the club, has backed Wenger to lead the club out of a critical start to the season.

It is a glowing endorsement for Wenger who has been under pressure following the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri in the summer, while nine players currently sit on the sidelines through injury.

“I have tremendous confidence in (Arsene),” Kroenke told the Daily Telegraph. “He is one of the great managers in the world. Arsene is one of my favourite people I have met in the last 20 years.

“He is a great person and I love the way he handles himself. He is a very intelligent guy.”

Asked about the side’s disastrous start to the season, Kroenke said: “It’s a rocky start but what do people really expect? Cesc Fabregas who signed for Barcelona in the summer) is a great player who Arsene developed from the age of 16. He decided last year that he wanted to leave.

“Maybe it is one of those times when we have to work our way through, maybe with some young players. Arsene has been really good at developing these guys, people like Alex (Oxlade-) Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere. There are some really good players that Arsene thinks can be special. Arsene’s our man.”

Kroenke also described the sale of Fabregas and Nasri, saying: “I like the kid (Fabregas) but I’m not going to change his mind. Arsene made the decision.

“I also get it on (Samir) Nasri (who joined Manchester City). If we didn’t do something on Nasri people would be looking at us next summer and saying, ‘Why didn’t you do this?’ We bought in a lot of resources that we can use on other players.”