Former-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has praised his once fiercest-rivals Arsene Wenger for reaching his 1,000th game in charge of Arsenal Football Club.
When The Gunners go to Stamford Bridge tomorrow lunchtime, Wenger will be in the hot-seat at Arsenal for the 1,000th time, an achievement that only three managers have matched, Sir Matt Busby, Dario Gradi and Ferguson.
Over the years, Sir Alex and Wenger haven’t always been best friends and they definately haven’t seen eye-to-eye, but one thing they did have for each other and still do have for each other, is respect, and in a recent interview, the now-retired Ferguson admitted that it’s a great achievement for Wenger and he is a true great to the English game.
‘I congratulate Arsène in reaching this momentous landmark,’ he said in a League Managers Association (LMA) statement.
‘Having also reached the same milestone at one club, I cannot emphasise enough the level of dedication, resilience as well as sacrifice required and for that I have for the utmost admiration.
‘Over the years we enjoyed some fantastic battles and you could say we had survived together and respected each other’s efforts to play good football.
‘I always enjoy watching Arsène’s sides – Arsenal play the right way. Playing against them always presented special challenges that I burned many hours over the years thinking about.
‘He has always been a conscientious member of our trade who makes it his business to help other managers.
‘Perhaps the biggest compliment I could give Arsène is that I could never be anything other than competitive with my rival for 17 years.
‘Overall this achievement once again shows what stability can bring to a football club and without doubt he has created a permanent legacy during his 1000 matches with the club.’
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
