Wenger expresses 'shock' at winning Manager of the Month award

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has had a torrid season, particularly in the last few weeks, and so he was more shocked than anyone to learn that he's been named Barclays Manager of the Month for February, he has admitted.





Despite seeing his side dumped out of the FA Cup and all but eliminated from the Champions League after a first-leg trouncing by AC Milan, Wenger enjoyed a very successful February in the Premier League.

Arsenal went unbeaten for the whole of last month, winning three of their four games to lift themselves back into the top four.

Despite this, Wenger has been under mounting pressure from both the fans and the press, some respite only coming after last weekend's game against Tottenham when the Gunners overturned a two-goal deficit to crush their north London rivals 5-2.

'It was a complete shock to me. I couldn't understand that at all,' Wenger said.

'If you had read the newspapers in the last two weeks, you must say there is a mistake.

'I thought they were speaking to somebody else behind me.'

Speaking about upcoming fixtures, the Arsenal boss said his side need to build on their confidence-boosting result against Spurs when they take on Liverpool at Anfield today if they are to have any chance of getting past Milan, who lead 4-0 on aggregate, to progress in the Champions League.

'We know that in the Champions League we have a massive score against us, but if we get a good result at Liverpool I think we have a chance,' he said.

'For us it's important to confirm the game we played against Tottenham at Liverpool and then we can focus completely on the Champions League and have a real go.'