Arsene Wenger has claimed that managerial counterpart Pep Guardiola has not had to deal with as much criticism as he did when he arrived at Arsenal in the 1990s.
The Gunners boss implied that the Manchester City gaffer has had it relatively easy despite City potentially being 10 points off first place in the Premier League at the end of this weekend's round of fixtures.
Wenger was heavily criticised upon taking charge of Arsenal in 1996 after he joined from Japanese outfit Nagoya Grampus. That flak quickly turned to praise, however, following
the Frenchman's new fangled possession based philosophy that won his side a league and cup double.
Ahead of the tantalising league clash between City and Arsenal on Sunday, Wenger appeared to suggest that, despite their inconsistent form, his title rivals' manager was not being scrutinised too heavily under the microscope.
He told FourFourTwo: "I should get some newspapers from when I arrived here and you will see that it's much easier today for the foreign managers. I would say when I arrived here it was difficult for the foreign managers. Today it difficult for the English managers. That's what has changed."
Wenger did go on to note that Guardiola had received some negative press, before going on to praise the work the Spaniard had done throughout his managerial career at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
The 67-year-old said: "Have I been surprised by the criticism? Yes and no. Yes, because his CV is impeccable and no because that's part of our game and modern life in our job.
"People really love football in this country and there's a big passion for the game. I respect that hugely, but people also want their team to win. On top of that, people are impatient as well ” modern society is like that.
"I must say he has done extremely well and he is one of the most respected managers in the game, if not the most and maybe rightly so. But every manager has a personality and can only act with his own personality.
Arsene Wenger says Pep Guardiola has it easy compared to when he arrived in English football... https://t.co/LOOG1A3unq
"You cannot copy a manager, you can only be who you are, and he has been influenced at Barcelona by the [Johan] Cruyff period when he was a player.
"I think he has strong beliefs and that for me is the most important thing for a manager. You want every manager who has a positive philosophy to succeed. People are always resistant to radical change. They are also ready to cope with it if it is successful.
"Our job is to always accept that you want your own philosophy but at the right pace, and when you go somewhere, sometimes you have to analyse what is going on and to bring in your own philosophy at a pace where you think they can cope with it."
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