Arsene Wenger: Pep Guardiola talk will not faze Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini

Wenger (left) says Pellegrini is doing a good job at City, who are keen on Guardiola

 

ARSENE WENGER has backed rival boss Manuel Pellegrini to stand up to speculation linking Pep Guardiola to the Manchester City job.

 

With the Bayern Munich coach reported to have told the German club that he has no intention of extending his current contract beyond the summer, he has immediately been linked with a long-awaited arrival in the Premier League.

Wenger admits he feels empathy for Pellegrini that it is his job that has become the one under most scrutiny but said it is a measure of just how good a manager Pellegrini is that he will not allow the rumours to disrupt his work at the Etihad.

Wenger said: “I don’t know if the speculation is down to City, I don’t know where that comes from. It’s very difficult to master nowadays, to have this kind of speculation. It’s part of our job now.

 

“It can be destabilising, but Pellegrini is experienced enough to deal with it. Maybe if it was a very young beginner, it could be destabilising but I don’t think that at his level it will affect him. Personally I rate him highly on the football front and on the human front as well.”

And Wenger is not holding out much hope of it affecting their title-race meeting on Monday night.

“I believe that what will be an advantage to us is to focus on our performance and not hope for any weakness from City,” he said. “We go into a top-level game where all the rest will be forgotten and everybody else will just focus on the performance on the day.”