Arsene Wenger has said a lack of “patience” and “forgiveness” at Arsenal led to his exit from the club.
Wenger stepped down as manager after 22 years in charge, and the Gunners announced former Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery will be taking his place on Wednesday.
The Frenchman has reflected on his departure from the Gunners, and told beIN Sports (h/t MailOnline’s Max Winters):
“We sat together and thought that would be better, to have somebody that comes in that has credit and patience.
“There’s a great spirit in the team, it was a pleasure to work with them, there’s great potential in the team, somebody coming in and having time will fight for the championship.
“You felt always there was an impatience there, no forgiveness anymore. When you’re such a long time there there’s impatience. We were used to always huge success but nothing was good enough anymore.
“Even this season we played in the League Cup final, the semi-final of the Europa League and didn’t deserve to go out. Even if we had won the Europa League I could feel there was an impatience that was definite.”
Wenger guided Arsenal to UEFA Champions League qualification in each of the first 20 years of his reign, and along with three Premier League titles he also lifted seven FA Cups.
His last three victories in the latter competition—in 2014, 2015 and 2017—helped enhance his longevity in the job, but few Arsenal fans would agree with Wenger’s assessment after a decade or more of visible decline for their side.