Wenger 'very sad' for Pardew

Arsene Wenger insists he has nothing but sympathy for Alan Pardew following his sacking by West Ham’s new owners.

The Arsenal manager was involved in a well-publicised touchline bust-up with Pardew at Upton Park on November 5 after the Hammers netted a late winner that the home boss had celebrated wildly.

The Football Association charged both with improper conduct and the matter has yet to be resolved by the governing body.

But Wenger insisted he now had nothing but sympathy for Pardew for the way he was shown the exit door by West Ham’s new Icelandic chairman Eggert Magnusson, who had initially promised him time and money to get the Hammers out of relegation trouble.

He said: “I had differences with him but it doesn’t mean I want him to be sacked. I find it very sad because for me he is a good manager who has done well.

“He paid the price for the fact that West Ham struggled a bit but if he had been given time he would have got them out of there.

“As well maybe he paid an even bigger price for the fact that the owners changed. Sometimes when new people come in you know when you are the manager they want to bring in their own people and you are on the list to be changed.

“I don’t know the guy who bought West Ham well but certainly if an English guy had bought he would have been more patient.

“They do not want to lose their investment so if the results do not come quickly and they are not real football people they are not patient because they are scared.

“Most of the time when someone says you are part of the future you have to prepare your luggage.”

Wenger also made it clear he did not believe that sacking a manager automatically guaranteed improvement.

He said: “They made a big study in France that showed that 90 per cent of the time a change in the middle of the season doesn’t change the result.

“I don’t know what happened inside the club. From the outside, it looked like Pardew still had the confidence of the supporters and that tells you a lot about what he achieved.

“Most of the time the supporters are the good judges of what somebody has done for the club and they rate him.

“They came up and were a minute away from winning the Cup. After that why Magnusson decided to change the manager only he can tell. Whether he saw something inside the club that was not right I do not know.”