Hull City may have lost their FA Cup replay 4-0 to Arsenal but manager Steve Bruce was still magnanimous enough to stand up for Gunners’ boss Arsene Wenger after some section of the away fans unfurled a banner with a message asking the Frenchman to quit.
The banner was a reaction to Arsenal’s form away from the FA Cup, with an almighty turnaround required to overcome Barcelona in the Champions League next week.
It is the eight-point gap to Barclays Premier League leaders Leicester that really sticks in the craw, though – not that Hull counterpart Bruce can comprehend the anger aimed at Wenger.
‘I just can’t understand that for the life of me,’ he said. ‘But, then again, we’re in a crazy industry at the moment where the coach or the manager, no matter who you are or what respect you’ve got – (have) people coming after you. We are going to talk about it, probably.
‘The fella has been immense for Arsenal for 20 years and maybe these idiots, who think they want change… until they have change might rue that decision forever more.
‘He has been managing Arsenal since ’96, which is quite remarkable. He has been able to shrug it off, dust it off. He’s a very, very experienced man and we’re talking about one of the greats here.
‘For what he has done, I think people have to realise what he has done and achieved at Arsenal, but it doesn’t seem enough any more.
‘They don’t have a divine right to win it with the spending power others have got, so I can’t understand it.’
COMMENTS