EPL

Fans won’t force me out —Wenger

Arsenal fans protested before the game and also held banners inside Emirates Stadium calling for Arsene Wenger to leave the club

Embattled Arsenal manger, Arsene Wenger has insisted that supporters’ opinion will not force him out of Arsenal this summer.

Hundreds of angry fans protested outside the Emirates Stadium ahead of their 5-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, a result that capped a 10-2 aggregate capitulation.

The humiliation piled further pressure on the Frenchman to call time on his 21-year Arsenal reign at the end of the season, but a defiant Wenger said he won’t be swayed by the fans.

Speaking ahead of the Gunners’ FA Cup quarter-final with Lincoln City on Saturday, Wenger said: ‘I work hard for 20 years to make fans happy. When you lose, I understand they are not.

“I don’t want to judge that and will give my commitment to my work.”

Asked whether supporters’ opinion will be one of the main factors when he makes his decision over his future, Wenger said: “It will influence. But it won’t be the most important factor.”

Despite another torrid week, which started with a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool in the Premier League, Wenger said he has yet to make a decision on whether he’ll be in the job next season.

He said: “My decision is to focus on the next game and to make sure we respond. I don’t focus on my future. Football games are important.”

Wenger then insisted that reports he has already told his players he is leaving this summer are false, while also saying that reports of arguments within the camp have been exaggerated.

He said: “A lot has been said. We have a good, united and determined group.”

“When you go through disappointing results, you have disagreements. We can show how united we are. On that front, I don’t worry.”

Arsenal have now been eliminated at the last-16 stage of the Champions League for the past seven seasons, but Wenger doesn’t feel that consistent failure will tarnish his legacy.

He said: “I don’t work for my image, I work for this club. After, how I will be judged is not my problem.”

“I have shown since I have been here that I love this club and I am loyal to this club. I have made the best decisions for this club and I will continue to do that.”