He´s an outstanding manager – Hughes full of praise for rival Wenger

Mark Hughes believes Arsene Wenger has done a “remarkable job” at Arsenal, even if the pair have not always seen eye-to-eye in the past.

Hughes takes struggling Southampton to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday desperate for a positive result as they bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Welshman has clashed at times with his Arsenal counterpart down the years, including one incident in 2009, when Wenger opted not to shake his fellow manager’s hand following a 3-0 defeat to Hughes’ Manchester City side.

However, while admitting the rivalry with the Frenchman did “get a little bit silly” in the past, Hughes is still full of praise for the longest-serving manager currently in England’s top flight.

“He’s done a remarkable job. He’s an outstanding manager and has been for a huge number of years,” he said.

“I’m a manager as well so I know how difficult it is to have longevity in your career, and he trumps me by about 10-15 years, so he’s not doing bad.

“I’ve got the utmost respect for Arsene. Don’t get me wrong, he wants to win and so do I and sometimes we probably get a little bit silly, but there you go.

“[It is] not always on my instigation, by the way.”

Hughes only took charge of Southampton in the middle of March following the departure of Mauricio Pellegrino, signing a deal until the end of the season.

He steered them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup with victory over Wigan Athletic in his first game in charge but lost 3-0 at West Ham in his only league outing at the helm.

Southampton sit three points behind 17th-placed Crystal Palace with seven games to play, and they still have Chelsea and Manchester City to play during a tricky run-in.

“We need to be ready at the weekend and given the way we performed at #WHUFC, we have to be better and I sense the group fully expects themselves to be.” #saintsfc https://t.co/K3H7nqySNl

— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) April 7, 2018