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| Remi Garde was Arsene Wenger's first signing as manager of Arsenal |
REMI GARDE has paid tribute to Arsene Wenger's staying power at the top - and has identified the Arsenal manager's burning desire to win more major trophies as his driving force after two decades in the job.
The French duo will find themselves in opposing dugouts tomorrow when the north London club visit rock-bottom Aston Villa - 19 years on from Garde becoming Wenger's first signing as Gunners boss.
In a week in which Garry Monk became the latest managerial casualty following his ruthless sacking by Swansea, Garde believes Wenger's reign spanning almost 20 years as Arsenal boss deserves immense credit.
The Gunners pulled off a great escape this week to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League - the one major trophy to elude Wenger - while they begin the weekend second in the Premier League.
And Garde believes more success in such competitions is what keeps his former boss as hungry as when he played under him.
"I have a lot of admiration for him as you realise how tough it is in the Premier League, how difficult it is to keep your job and get results," said Garde.
"For me he still has a spirit to get trophies, this is the main one you have as a manger and he probably still feels strong enough to get trophies.You need a lot of strength to cope with situations you have deal with as a manager.
"How long can I see him staying in the Premier League? It is always difficult to answer to this kind of question. Only Arsene has the answer to be fair.
"I think you have to dedicate all your life to football. I'm not sure Arsene had long holidays or many days off since he took over at Arsenal. You have to be completely focused and live for football and your football club.
"For some personalities it is more difficult than others. Arsene has always lived for football and he has been rewarded for that."
And Garde has hailed his fellow Frenchman's influence on his managerial career. "I always had the feeling that even if we were not talking too much with Arsene we were somewhere close with ideas on the way we think about football," he said.
"But I don't want to compare me to Arsene in terms of what I achieve and he has achieved - I am far away from that."
Garde insists his team can take positives from last Saturday's draw at Southampton - as well as holding Manchester City to a goalless draw last month - as they search for a first league win since the opening day.
He added: "The City and Southampton game can be remembered by me and the players - the way we approached it was different to the Watford game [which Villa lost]. The collective spirit was quite different. We will need that attitude on Sunday."
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