Sunday 16 April 2017 12:52, UK
Steve Agnew goes head-to-head with embattled Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Monday Night Football at the Riverside, live on Sky Sports 1HD, and has said the Frenchman's plight shows just how difficult Premier League management can be.
Wenger and his side will arrive at Middlesbrough scrapping to keep themselves in the race for a top-four finish, having slipped nine points adrift of Liverpool with two games in hand over the weekend.
The Gunners boss is facing pressure after a disappointing campaign which has seen Arsenal knocked out of the Champions League at the last-16 stage for the seventh straight season, and down to seventh in the league.
Boro's interim head coach Agnew, who is in desperate need of victory himself with the club currently in the relegation zone, believes that the intense pressure on Wenger demonstrates how tough life at the top can be.
"Absolutely (he has sympathy). The game is results-driven, we all know that, and he's had 20 years at Arsenal, which is an amazing achievement," Agnew said.
"Of course they're in a difficult moment, certainly away from home. But they have got top-quality players throughout the team, so we have no doubt it will be a really, really difficult game.
"It is a challenge because he's got top, top players through the squad. It's full of internationals and Arsene Wenger, in my opinion, is one of the most talented coaches there's been around for many years."
Agnew was installed as Aitor Karanka's temporary replacement last month, and has been handed the chance to make the job his on a permanent basis.
He has overseen two draws and two defeats and Boro are now six points from safety, albeit having played two fewer games than most of the sides around them.
The pressure is growing by the week, although the head coach is urging his players to let him bear that weight.
"A playing career obviously is something that you never want to end," he added. "You prepare yourself for the game within the team.
"But obviously coaching is different, completely different, because you now have a 25-man squad to manage and to work on. But it's something I have always enjoyed doing and I'll continue to do so.
"I'm enjoying it. Obviously it is and it continues to be a challenge, but a challenge that I'm enjoying and relishing. The response from all the players and all the staff has been first class."
Agnew has been boosted by the return of George Friend and Gaston Ramirez from calf and ankle injuries respectively, and his only absentee for the game will be Calum Chambers, who is ineligible to play against his parent club under the terms of his loan agreement.
