TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Arsene Wenger has hit back at Manchester United legend Paul Scholes after he accused Arsenal of lacking backbone, as cited in ESPN.
The former midfielder claimed Arsenal "did not have any leaders" and "were million miles away from a title challenge" in an outspoken outburst while working as a pundit for Sky Sports earlier this week.
His comments followed Chelsea's 6-0 thrashing of Wenger's side, a defeat which cam on the back of a 2-2 draw at home to Swansea on Tuesday and saw their title task become more difficult. But Wenger was quick to reject the criticisms. "If six points [from the top] is a million miles away, I don't know the translation of a mile into a point," Wenger said.
Scholes was also outspoken in claiming Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere has "not progressed" since he made his breakthrough in the first team, but Wenger rejected that barb, too.
"You cannot say that," he claimed. "Jack Wilshere is an exceptional player for me who has been handicapped by many injuries. Once Jack will be back and consistently on the pitch, he will show everybody wrong about that because he is an exceptional football player and Scholes knows that as well."
ESPN