Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has slammed Arsenal fans for their treatment of manager Arsene Wenger.
The French boss has come in for heavy criticism this season after a run of poor form has left the Gunners with little chance of chasing Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Fans of Arsenal held up a banner during the Premier League clash with West Brom recently, which read: ‘Arsene, thanks for the memories but it’s time to say goodbye.’
However, Carragher has hit back at the club’s fans, insisting that the Frenchman deserves more respect for what he has achieved during his time at the club.
“If I could think of one word to sum up Arsenal as a football club it would be ‘class’. How they go about things, how they do things,” he told Sky Sports.
“That was classless from the supporters. The banner at West Brom, the reaction at the train station at Stoke.
“Considering what Arsene Wenger’s done – no-one should have a job for life and I’m sure there will be questions at the end of the season – but the day he leaves that club they’ll be building a statue of him, the job that he’s done.
“You should never, ever react to a manager like that considering the job that he’s done. It was classless.”
Carragher did have criticism for German centre back Per Mertesacker for his performance in the defeat at the Britannia Stadium at the weekend.
“Typical Arsenal at Stoke. Schoolboys against men. You could’ve looked at any individual, any part of the team. Nothing was right,” he added.
“When you go into games like that, you know before the game you’ve got to play your own game on autopilot. You’ve got to play half of their game [the younger players] for them.
“Away at Stoke, you have to help them and Mertesacker didn’t. You talk about leadership, character, that Wenger always talks about after a game.
“He’s left them on their own and that’s not acceptable for a player of that quality and experience. He’s captain on the day and it’s not acceptable.”
