It’s a rough stretch for Arsenal right now, as their loss to Tottenham Sunday means they’ll finish behind Spurs for the first time since 1995. That prompted the cancellation of “St. Totteringham’s Day,” the annual Arsenal fans’ celebration that they’d finish ahead of their north London rivals, and it also aggravated under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. When asked if Tottenham had surpassed Arsenal after Sunday’s match, Wenger answered the question by saying that this was a statistical probability and nothing more, and then walked off in the midst of the reporter trying to ask a follow-up question:
https://twitter.com/EmanDaGoonn/status/858743540700123136
“Look, in 20 years, it happened once, you know. Mathematically, it has to happen once. We are not happy with it, but we are willing to accept it’s not about comparing us to Spurs, it’s about comparing us to where we want to be. Let’s fight until the end and not just make a conclusion compared to Spurs today. Thank you.”
That’s a very polite exit from an interview compared to some, but it’s still a definite exit, and one showing off Wenger’s annoyance. Of course, it’s understandable why he’s mad; his team’s sixth in the Premier League table, and six points back of the final Champions League spot. Meanwhile, his long-time rivals at Tottenham are second. That’s an unexpected situation for Wenger, and it’s only adding to the pressure on the club to move on from him. But this was still a surprisingly abrupt press interaction from him, and one that perhaps illustrates the precarious nature of his position at the moment.
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.