London - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has come to the defence of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, who has been met with heavy criticism recently.
Guardiola believes the way managers are treated by the media
and former players is disrespectful, and used Wenger as an example of this
unacceptable behaviour.
Wenger's future at the Gunners has been called into question
by the likes of former Arsenal defender Martin Keown, and former Manchester
United centre-back Rio Ferdinand after the 5-1 hammering they received against
Bayern Munich. However, Guardiola thinks the comments are uncalled for.
"What I've heard in the last 10 days about how the
people - former players and journalists - treated for example Arsene Wenger is
unacceptable," Guardiola told a news conference after City drew 0-0 with
Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup.
"For me, our job at the moment, we don't have any
respect for any position. What happened was unacceptable. We take decisions and
you can say whatever you want."
Guardiola also had to endure criticism after his side failed
to score against Huddersfield in a game which saw the Spaniard make eight
changes to his team. They will now have an extra game to play at the Etihad
Stadium for an FA Cup replay.
He added: "I take my decisions and you analyse them after, I have to take the decision before. The best solution was what I'd done."