Times Sport
Wenger dismisses former Sunderland manager's criticism
8:00am Monday 20th February 2012
ARSENE Wenger has angrily dismissed former Sunderland manager Roy Keane's withering assessment of his Arsenal side's performance in Saturday's FA Cup fifth-round defeat at the Stadium of Light.
Keane was an ITV pundit as the Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup on Wearside, and claimed during the half-time interval that the current Arsenal side was the worst he had ever seen.
The ex-Black Cats boss also suggested that striker Robin van Persie was the only current player who would get into any of the Arsenal teams that won Premier League titles in the early part of the last decade.
Wenger disagrees with Keane's comments, and claims there are valid excuses for his side's limp FA Cup exit, which came just three days after they were effectively knocked out of the Champions League courtesy of a 4-0 humbling at the hands of AC Milan.
“I think it's a very harsh judgement,” said Wenger. “I felt it was a committed performance and the players gave absolutely everything that was left in their legs.
“It has been very difficult. We have played three successive away games in a week on three very difficult pitches, so I believe we have been very unfortunate.
“I felt we were a bit unlucky. It was a 100 per cent performance from us and their first shot was a goal. Then we had to chase the game, take a gamble and they caught us on the break.”
Nevertheless, the result means Arsenal are now almost certain to finish a seventh successive season without a trophy, a barren spell that has piled considerable pressure on to Wenger's shoulders.
The current side is arguably further away from the cream of the European crop than ever, yet the Frenchman shows little desire to preside over the kind of complete overhaul that is surely required.
Objective one is to secure a place in next season's Champions League, and Sunday's home game with north London rivals Tottenham has assumed massive importance.
Yet in the longer term, a different approach is surely necessary. Given his stubborn refusal to acknowledge the current side's failings, is Wenger, for all his historical achievements at both Highbury and the Emirates, the right man for the job?
“We have what it takes at the club and we will add what it takes,” he said. “But I think we have what it takes here when everybody is available because we have many people missing at the moment, and big, big players too.
“We are in mid-February and (Jack) Wilshere has played zero games, (Abou) Diaby has played zero games, (Per) Mertesacker is out for the rest of the season and (Andre) Santos is out for three months. That would be difficult for any club in the world to deal with.
“At the moment, we are not making plans for next season. We are making plans for the next game and our main target now is to focus on the championship.”