Arsene Wenger ‘should stay’ argues Sky Sports pundit despite 20-year Arsenal reign coming under real pressure to end

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Gary Neville believes that Arsene Wenger should continue at Arsenal, revealing that his absence will be felt significantly once he’s gone.

Wenger has now been in charge of the Gunners for 20 years, but after coming under increasing scrutiny in recent times, the new campaign didn’t get off to the start that he would have been desperate for.

Arsenal fell to a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, leading to further criticism and jeers from the club’s supporters.

With Granit Xhaka his only marquee summer signing to date, it’s no surprise that Wenger hasn’t silenced his critics, but Neville still supports him and believes that he should continue in the job.

“I am sure when Arsene Wenger is not here, there will be a massive amount of admiration for what he has achieved at this football club,” he said, as noted by Sky Sports. “I would advocate him staying on because it feels like we have new managers every 10 minutes and he is a stalwart.

“You look at what he has achieved – he is the most successful manager in their history.

“Unfortunately the shame of modern football as it is, we don’t appreciate stability and continuity as much as we should. When you sign five or six players and sack your manager, it’s almost like fans are invigorated again.

“There is a feeling among some fans that Arsenal are lacking inspiration and it shouldn’t be like that on the first day of the season. Some Arsenal fans are feeling a bit tired.”

Whether or not a move to replace Wenger is the right decision from the Arsenal board remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely that anything so drastic will now happen during the course of the season.

However, with just a few weeks to go ahead of the summer transfer window deadline, the French tactician will be under huge pressure to bring in quality players to boost their hopes of winning silverware this season.

Otherwise he will continue to be under the glaring spotlight from supporters and media alike in the coming months.

Arsenal had an injury crisis in defence and the absence of key individuals in attack to contend with on Sunday, and so the first port of call for Wenger will be to get as many of his big-name players firing in the more immediate future before possibly bringing in reinforcements.

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