David Moyes sacking is 'sad' and proves 'threat' to football, insists Arsene Wenger... as Arsenal boss loses his voice (but not his job!)
Arsene Wenger has expressed his sadness over the sacking of David Moyes and warned that football is 'under threat' from short-term thinking at Barclays Premier League clubs.
The 64-year-old Arsenal boss, who is in his 18th year at the club but has not won a trophy since 2005, urged clubs to give their managers more time to prove themselves, or face the consequences
Wenger, who battled through his press conference at London Colney on Friday morning after losing his voice, believes that a lack of time for bosses will lead to a poorer standard of coaching.
Stand by your manager: David Moyes shakes hands with Arsene Wenger at the Emirates in February
Shout it from the rooftops: Wenger is unhappy with the sacking of Moyes by Manchester United this week
'(It's) sad he wasn't given time. I wish him well,' said Wenger.
'It's part of the modern game - there's no time and that's a big threat for our game.
'If you want quality people in our job you have to give them time. That means the quality of the coaching will not be as good as you don't have the time.
'We live in a society where the quick intelligence takes over the slow intelligence. Everything is immediate.'
Stability: Arsenal have benefited from Wenger's long-term presence, despite their trophy drought
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United have come under criticism from the League Managers Association (LMA) over ther manner of Moyes' dismissal, which was revealed by Sportsmail and other media on Monday afternoon. The club insist that they had not made the decision until Monday night but it appears that Moyes' fate had already been decided, and the news was broken before the SCot knew himself.
'I don't know the details but you want the managers to be informed first and it didn't look like that,' said Wenger. 'He has big experience and you would have loved him to be given more time.'
Moyes was dubbed 'The Chosen One' after Sir Alex Ferguson handpicked his fellow countrymen as his successor last summer, but the wisdom of such an approach has been questioned in the wake of the misery at Old Trafford this season.
And Wenger revealed that he would not be involved in choosing his replacement when his long stint as Arsenal boss ends.
'That's not my job,' he said. But Sir Alex Ferguson was in a good position to show support to his follower. Having that support was important.'
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