Wenger: Demanding society makes 20-year reign hard to repeat

Arsene Wenger believes the demanding nature of society means it is unlikely another manager will emulate his achievement of managing the same club for 20 years.

The Arsenal manager will celebrate the landmark anniversary on October 1 and during his time at the helm the Gunners have won three Premier League titles and six FA Cup trophies.

The Frenchman has been the longest-serving manager in English football since the legendary Alex Ferguson retired from Manchester United in 2013.

Wenger, speaking during a question and answer session with beIN Sports, says it is not impossible for someone to emulate his longevity, but the thirst for success means few will be given the opportunity.

“I can imagine another manager staying for 20 years, but it is very unlikely,” he said.

“Football is changing very quickly. Society has changed and people are now very demanding. People are more opinionated and want to be more involved in the current affairs of a club.

“They want to decide much more. But there’s nothing more dangerous than superficial knowledge and inside a club now you need to be stronger than ever and not make stupid decisions.

“You have to respect a club’s guidelines and have strong personalities inside.”

Wenger has first-hand knowledge of dealing with a demanding fan base, with an ever growing section of the support calling for a change of manager with Arsenal having not won the league title since the ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04.

But the 66-year-old says criticism from the pundits and those in the stands must be put into perspective.

He added: “I hear my critics, of course. I believe when you have been at a club for a long time it would be very dangerous not to listen to critics at all.

“You have to take a step back, look at things from a distance and analyse things objectively.

“Perspective is so important. Sometimes the critics are right and you have to try and analyse what is wrong.

“But the thing about modern society is, out of 100 people, 95 don’t criticise and five do and only the five are heard.

“The media give importance to them. I just try and do my job as well as I can with full commitment. I can look in the mirror after and say I have done my best.”