Pep Guardiola voices support for under-fire Arsene Wenger

LONDON: Pep Guardiola spoke of his admiration for Arsene Wenger after his Manchester City side steamrollered Arsenal for the second time in five days to increase the pressure on the Frenchman.
The Gunners suffered another chastening 3-0 defeat at home on Thursday following a loss by the same scoreline in the League Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.
Guardiola celebrated his 100th game in charge in style as Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Leroy Sane all scored first-half goals for City, who now need just five more wins to secure the Premier League title.
Struggling Arsenal are 10 points off the top four and a whopping 30 points adrift of the champions-elect.
With seven defeats from 13 games across all competitions in 2018, Wenger’s position is under intense scrutiny.
But Guardiola suggested his counterpart would make the right decision over his own future, given his long history at Arsenal.
“He knows my admiration for him,” he said of the Frenchman. “We play, we fight many, many times in Barcelona, a lot of times in Bayern Munich, a lot of times here in Premier League. A lot of times.
“I can understand the situation. I know all the managers can be in that situation. He knows, he handles that situation. He has a lot of experience.”
Thursday’s game at the Emirates Stadium went ahead despite snow and freezing conditions across Britain — but the hosts could not cope with City’s quality.
“They took advantage of our lack of confidence,” said Wenger. “We’re going through a difficult period, they’re going through a period where all goes well for them.
“When your confidence is not at the best, the first thing that goes is your fluidity in the movement, the spontaneous side of the game.
“You could see that tonight. I don’t deny their quality because they have top quality, but we’re going through a difficult patch at the moment. That’s part of football as well, unfortunately.”