Gary Neville interview: Why Arsenal fans should lay off Arsene Wenger, why Liverpool need to win the title and more

Frustrated Arsenal fans may feel manager Arsene Wenger is drinking in the last-chance saloon but old foe Gary Neville insists they should be careful what they wish for.

The now-retired former Manchester United captain knows all about the Frenchman’s contribution to the Gunners, having battled Wenger’s North London side for 15 years.

And Neville believes the Frenchman ranks behind only United's Sir Alex Ferguson in the list of the Premier League’s greatest-ever managers.

"Arsene has been there for so long, producing really top players," said Neville. “He has worked hard and some of their football during his time has been fantastic.

“When we [Manchester United] played against Arsenal, we accepted that we were playing against a team that, for 20 years, have been brilliant at passing a football and interchanging.

“He is definitely second to Alex Ferguson in terms of his achievements. I think [former Chelsea boss] Jose Mourinho is the third of those stand-out managers who have made teams into champions and continually been successful at their clubs.

“Arsenal are a huge football club with massive expectations and you don’t stay there like Arsene has without being an outstanding manager. He is one of the very best.

"Arsene Wenger is still doing an excellent job. He is still in the job because of the level of respect there for him, and the way he gets the best out of young players."

Of late, Wenger’s standing among Arsenal fans has dipped, with the hard-core upset at his unwillingness to bow to their calls for battle-hardened signings.

Some supporters have even called for Wenger to go, while others believe the pressure is on the former Monaco chief’s transfer dealings now that the Gunners’ traditional top four place is at risk.

The stakes have been further raised by the impending departures of Samir Nasri to Manchester City and Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

But Neville, the latest addition to Sky Sports’ stable of pundits, believes Arsenal fans need to hold their nerve and back their manager.

He went on: “Fans at every club are impatient. Arsenal need trophies - that will always be the way - but it would be the wrong thing to even think about losing Arsene Wenger.

“I’m not one of those people who would jump on the bandwagon. I’ve seen Arsene Wenger go head-to-head with Manchester United over 15 years.

“Never underestimate or disrespect what that man can achieve with players and his scouting network.

“I genuinely believe that before he loses Fabregas and Nasri he will have others players lined up to come in, like he has done for the last 10 or 15 years.

“Arsenal have been our [United's] major rivals for the past 15 years.

"They are the ones that have gone through seasons unbeaten.

“They are the ones that produced the best team I played against - in 1998, with Bergkamp, Anelka, Petit, Vieira, Overmars, Parlour and that famous back five. That was as good a team as I’ve played against in England.

"I think people are too quick to jump on the bandwagon and think he [Wenger] should come under pressure.

“He’s been immensely successful for a long period. I think anyone managing Arsenal in the last five or six years would not have achieved what Arsene Wenger has achieved.

“He has been getting into the Champions League places every year and still playing quality football - entertaining the fans.

“They have invested hugely in their stadium and not been able to spend £30m, £40m, £50m or £60m year in and year out on the squad.

“I don’t believe that he [Wenger] should be under pressure.

"If you look at Arsenal, they are not a knee-jerk-reaction club. They believe in the long-term."

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NEVILLE ON... SIR ALEX

Gary Neville was part of Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United first-team for 18 years, and says there is no sign his old boss is likely to quit anytime soon.

“He’ll go on until he feels his health can’t take it any more," said Neville of the 69-year-old Scot. "I don’t see any reason for him to stop.

“What keeps him going? The challenge, the young people around him, other teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool.

“I still see the hunger and desire and anger at times when the performance levels are not right, that demanding of the highest standards.

“I still see that within him. That willingness to always make sure that the team are prepared for a game.

“I don’t see a great change in him, I have to say.”

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NEVILLE ON... LIVERPOOL

He may be a renowned scourge of the Scousers, but Gary Neville believes old foes Liverpool are now in the same boat he was before helping Manchester United end their 26-year wait for the title in the early 1990s.

"Going back to 1992-93, you just become very desperate and very wanting," he said. "You become needy. You feel like its a goal, its a challenge.

“Don’t get me wrong, there is a pressure for Liverpool, United, Arsenal - all the big clubs - that pressure is there, year in year out.

“There is an expectations for these clubs to win titles and trophies year in year out. But it becomes a challenge rather than something to be excited about."

Liverpool have not lifted the English championship since the spring of 1990, and Neville can sense their yearning to be on top again.

“Going back all those years, it was the greatest moment for United to win that first title after so long," he said. “I think Liverpool are getting to that point where they need that success now. The club demands it.

“You can see exactly what Kenny Dalglish is trying to do there. He has brought an identity back to the club.

“He has brought back a core of solidity back to the club, which he felt he probably needed.

“With that, at Anfield, they will be extremely difficult to beat. Whether they can go on and win the title this season, I’m not sure.

"But one thing is for certain, they certainly have the experience in the manager. He has done it before at Liverpool and at Blackburn.

"He can cope with the demands of the championship, and for the first time in quite a few seasons they have gone into the campaign with a level of expectation that they do have a chance.”

NEVILLE ON... CITY AND CHELSEA

Despite Manchester City’s £38million signing of Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, Gary Neville believes the chief challengers to former club Manchester United will again come from London.

"It would be ­disrespectful to Chelsea to say that Manchester City would be the main ­challengers," he said.

"City will challenge, there’s no doubt about that. They will threaten. But I look at Chelsea and think of them as being the main challengers for five years now.

“I see no reason why that should change. I see a lot of the same players there.

"Everyone wants to build up the United/City thing, it’s exciting for Manchester, but the reality is the first- and second-best teams for the last five years have been Manchester United and Chelsea.

"City have to prove they can break through."