Match of the Day host Gary Lineker criticised Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger for his handling of a post-game interview with the BBC.
Wenger was interviewed by MOTD‘s Jacqui Oatley following his squad’s 2-2 draw with Hull, in which he refused to answer questions regarding Arsenal’s performance and fans’ concerns. When he was pressed for a follow-up comment by Oatley to his claim that Hull didn’t venture out of their half enough for Arsenal to mount an offense, Wenger replied: “I didn’t say that. You don’t listen very well to me.”
After Oatley questioned Arsenal’s inconsistent start to the season, in which they have only managed to secure two wins out of eight games, Wenger replied: “Why do you always want to blame people? I don’t understand the question.”
Lineker critised Wenger’s response to the questions he was fielded on Twitter, writing: “Must say, I thought Arsene Wenger was arrogant, defensive and patronising to Jacqui Oatley in the face of excellent and fair questioning.”
Oatley also took to Twitter to give her take on the interview, writing: “That’s the most adversarial interview I’ve done with Mr Wenger. Direct questions but I felt they were fair.”
Wenger concluded the awkward interview with a guarded response to Oatley’s question regarding his decision to not sign a new defender or defensive midfielder in the transfer window, replying: “You have been at the game today, I don’t know why you would come up with such a question when you’ve seen the game today.”
Also See: Arsenal “Can’t Replace” Arsene Wenger, says Chief Executive
Arsenal are currently struggling with the loss of a number of key players due to injury, with fans thankful that new signing Danny Welbeck appeared at the Emirates despite limping off the pitch during England’s Euro qualifying match against Estonia. It’s not all bad news for Wenger, though, as Arsenal’s chief executive Ivan Gazidis recently stated that the club would struggle to replace the veteran manager whenever he decides to leave his post at the club, saying: “So much of the attention on a football club is around an individual and that’s very understandable at Arsenal because we have a giant who’s managing us.”
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