Mikel Arteta has told Sky Sports that no-one at Arsenal wanted manager Arsene Wenger to leave earlier in the season.
Spaniard thinks criticism of Arsenal has been unfair
Mikel Arteta insists no-one at Arsenal wanted manager Arsene Wenger to leave when the club was seemingly in crisis earlier in the season.
The Emirates Stadium outfit were in February being criticised from all angles after a 4-0 first-leg defeat at AC Milan in the UEFA Champions was combined with FA Cup elimination at the hands of Sunderland and flailing Premier League form.
A mid-season blip was the last thing Wenger needed having suffered a horrendous start to the campaign in which Arsenal lost four of their opening seven league matches, including the notorious 8-2 humiliation at Manchester United.
Doubters, including pundits and fans, were suggesting the Arsenal manager's time was up after seemingly taking the club as far as he could since first arriving in London in 1996 and winning three league titles and four FA Cups during that period.
But Wenger's Arsenal have now won their last five games in all competitions to almost stage a remarkable comeback against Milan and realise their aim of overtaking Tottenham in third place in the league.
And Arteta, who only joined the club on last summer's deadline day, is adamant nobody wanted their manager to quit, as the former Everton midfielder told
Sky Sports: "He has been here for 15 years and he has respect from all the players, staff and everybody at the club.
Tense
"I think it is not easy for him to leave."
Arsenal's failure to win a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup has been another stick that critics have used to beat Wenger, but Arteta thinks the opinions have been unfair.
The Gunners suffered a shock defeat to Birmingham in last season's League Cup final and reached the 2006 Champions League final only to suffer a heart-breaking 10-man loss to Barcelona.
Arteta believes there are fine lines between success and failure and the Spaniard points to Manchester United in this season's tensely-poised league title race as an example.
"When you are not winning at a club like Arsenal, obviously you are going to get criticism," said the ex-Rangers midfielder ahead of Saturday's league game against Aston Villa at Emirates Stadium.
"But the way is, how you respond. I think Arsenal have been unlucky in the last few years, getting to finals and not winning due to small details.
"Afterwards, it is easy to blame. What happens if Manchester United do not win the title? It is going to be a disaster for Manchester United."
