Arsene Wenger reveals what saved him from Arsenal’s sack

Arsene Wenger believes he could have faced the sack had Arsenal not won the FA Cup final against Hull City in 2014.

Arsenal were searching for a first piece of silverware in almost a decade when they faced Hull in the decider of the 2013-14 edition of the FA Cup.

Hull took a surprise 2-0 lead inside just eight minutes, but goals to Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny took the game to extra-time, where Aaron Ramsey popped up to score a 109th-minute winner.

As Arsenal prepare to face the same opponents in the fifth-round of this year’s competition on Saturday, Wenger admits a loss to Hull could have been the end of his 18-year spell with the London-based club.

“I don’t know if I’d have gone, honestly,” he said. “If we had lost it I don’t know what would have happened.

“Usually I respect my contracts and I fight for everything and to say after 17 years [your future] can depend just on one cup final means it is better you don’t go to the final then.

“It would have been a problem if we had not won. But we won.

“It was up in the air and we had to give everything to win that final.”

Wenger also expressed concern over reports replays may be scrapped in the FA Cup in the future.

“I am quite a bit nervous about changing the rules because I like them now,” the 66-year-old said.

“I am convinced all of the clubs can compete with the number of games we have to play, so there is no real need for me to change the rules.

“This is the most traditional competition in England, so let’s respect it and keep it as it is.”