Sam Allardyce has confirmed one of football’s worst kept secrets: he cannot stand Arsène Wenger.
In his new autobiography, serialised in The Sun, Allardyce, who has just taken charge at Sunderland, describes his Arsenal counterpart as an “arrogant” coach and a bad loser. “I enjoyed beating Arsenal more than anyone when I was in charge at Bolton,” said Allardyce. “We’d really got to them and Arsène Wenger hated us.
“There was one time he wouldn’t shake hands with me at Highbury because we got a draw. I saw him ripping his tie off and throwing it on the floor in anger. He takes it all very personally and has an air of arrogance. He’s not one for inviting you into his office for a drink after the game.
“The more I wound him up, the more I liked it. He tried to influence refs through the media and create a perception that we were bullies committing all the fouls, while his team just wanted to play. It seemed he wanted a rule where they should be allowed to do what they wanted with the ball, without us being allowed to tackle them. It was a skill finding their weaknesses and how to exploit them. But when we succeeded the press were usually on about Arsenal having an off-day and the ref being soft.”
Allardyce – who makes it clear in his book that he does not have much time for Rafael Benítez either – takes Sunderland to the Emirates in early December. It promises to be a frosty afternoon.
