Munich: Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti has backed under-fire Arsene Wenger to lead Arsenal out of their slump, despite their “sensational” 5-1 Champions League thrashing in Germany.
Wenger’s 21-year reign as Arsenal coach is under pressure after their mauling at Bayern and they face an uphill battle for the last 16, second leg tie on March 7.
But Ancelotti believes the Frenchman has the experience to pull Arsenal out of the mire as they stare down the barrel of a seventh last-16 exit in consecutive seasons.
“This is football, Arsene has the experience to manage this result and move forward — this is only one game,” said Ancelotti, who oversaw his 148th European game.
After Alex Ferguson, who coached in 198 Champions League matches, Wenger has the second highest number of European games under his belt with 183.
Lee Dixon, however, has joined the growing list of former Arsenal players sensing Wenger will call time on his at the north London club after yet another rollercoaster season.
“It saddens me to see him like that, I know what a winner he is. I think he realises, he seems so low. This team is getting no response from him. I’ve never seen him like that before,” Dixon, who played under Wenger for six years, told ITV Football.
“It’s so obvious that they fight for so long and then they lose inspiration. He owes it to himself to change that. It is he who will pull the rug from under his own turf. I think he thinks it’s time [to go].”
Ian Wright, Arsenal’s second-highest goalscorer, and Martin Keown, a member of Wenger’s squad who went through the 2003-04 Premier League campaign unbeaten, also expect the Frenchman to draw the curtains on his career.
Wenger, whose contract runs out at the end of the current campaign, has not won the Premier League title since 2004 and his team, 10 points behind leaders Chelsea after 25 games, look very unlikely to achieve the feat this season.
