Arsene Wenger says those who have been quick to jump all over another trophyless season at Arsenal need to put things into perspective.
Gunners boss hoping for derby tonic
Arsene Wenger says those who have been quick to jump all over another trophyless season at Arsenal need to put things into perspective.
The Gunners saw their final route to silverware blocked off on Saturday as they slipped out of the FA Cup at the fifth round stage.
The North London club are still in the UEFA Champions League, but they require a minor miracle if they are to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit in a last-16 showdown with AC Milan.
Wenger accepts that another season without a trophy could be deemed a crisis, but says the critics who are queuing up to knock his side must start looking at the bigger picture.
"It depends what you call a crisis," said the Frenchman when asked whether he considered his side to be in one.
"Every time we lose a game we have a crisis. Our job is about winning and playing well.
Lessons
"We will get criticism but I feel that it is a bit hard on the team.
"At the moment I get many lessons from many people who have managed zero clubs and zero games and zero European games.
"We have played 15 years in the top four, which is a mark of our consistency."
While aware that it is impossible to ignore the events of the recent past, Wenger insists his focus, following the FA Cup disappointment, is on making sure that his side are ready for a crunch derby date with arch-rivals Tottenham next weekend.
Asked for his take on another trophyless campaign and the direction Arsenal are heading, he said: "The competition is very hard in England. I do not want to speak too much about that. We can speak a long time about that one day.
"At the moment we have to forget all that and focus on our next game and try to win it. We won our last away game in the Premier League so let's win our next one at home."
