The Premier League’s all-time top three managers were debated on the Sports Bar with one particular choice dividing opinion.
Co-hosts Jamie O’Hara and Jason Cundy went head-to-head on the topic on Wednesday night with balanced opinions brought to the table.
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In a discussion that incredibly saw Tottenham fan O’Hara siding with the arch enemy, the duo submitted their choices with a straightforward top two plus one debatable third entrant.
“Sir Alex [Ferguson], Pep [Guardiola] and Jose [Mourinho] for me,” Cundy said without hesitation.
A stunned O’Hara replied: “What? Jose Mourinho, not Arsene Wenger?” To which Cundy responded “Arsene Wenger is in the conversation. But of course I’m putting Jose in there. Five and a half years, three Premier League titles.”
Cundy continued: “Arsene Wenger was there (Arsenal) 22 years and won three (titles).
“Sir Alex is the don, there’s no question. Pep is number two. How long has Pep been there? Nine or ten years I think. He’s won six Premier Leagues.
Crossing enemy lines
Spurs fan O’Hara then staked his case for the legendary Arsenal boss whose influence on the Premier League when he arrived in 1996, is still felt today.
The Frenchman replaced the traditional English football approach with a more science-led culture consisting of technical football.
He revamped player diets by banning alcohol and fatty foods while introducing advanced-level nutrition and training.
His utilisation of young and upcoming foreign talents also paid dividends as his Arsenal side completed a League and FA Cup double within two years of his arrival in north London.
And Wenger famously steered the Gunners to title glory after winning at White Hart Lane in 2004 before going on to finish the season unbeaten — a feat no other Premier League club has replicated.
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“I remember Arsene Wenger used to get the players coming in on a Sunday for a warm down,” Cundy recalled. “I was at Ipswich at the time, all of a sudden George Burley got us coming in for a warm down on a Sunday.
“I was like ‘ what’s this all about’. I was told that Arsene Wenger started it! So I had to drive from London to Ipswich on a Sunday morning for a warm down.”
‘Wenger would not have lasted at Chelsea’
Comparing Wenger’s reign at Arsenal to the pressure felt by Mourinho under Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, Cundy believes the Frenchman would have stood little chance of achieving the same longevity at Stamford Bridge.
“Arsene Wenger if he was at Chelsea would not have survived 22 years. No chance,” Cundy added.
“Under Roman Abramovich it was two years, give me a title then off you pop.”
O’Hara continued his defence of Wenger adding: “For me, I look at Arsene Wenger and what he did for the game and for Arsenal. Where he took the stature of that football club to where it is now, it’s down to Arsene Wenger.
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Cundy replied: “But that’s an Arsenal thing. You’re talking about a Premier League great.
“Arsene Wenger is a Premier League great but he’s not in the top three.
“He can’t be in the top three. Three titles in 22 years. Mate, that’s poor. If [Mikel] Arteta does that, Arsenal fans will be phoning up moaning.
“Let’s do the maths. If Arteta wins the title this year that’s one in six (years). If he wins another two in the next 15 years he ain’t surviving.
“Liverpool fans will say Jurgen Klopp is the greatest manager ever and he won one (title).
“You can’t be a Premier League great and win one title. Wenger is not in the top three. He’s in the top four.”
