Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Sir Alex Ferguson has offered his support during stressful period
Frenchman admits he has been feeling 'disastrous' and is struggling to sleep as pressure mounts
SIR ALEX FERGUSON has reached out to under-fire Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger to offer his old rival some support.
The Frenchman, 68, claims he is not sleeping well and feels "disastrous" as fans call for him to quit.
Arsenal lost four games in a row against Ostersunds, Manchester City twice and Brighton before beating AC Milan last night.
But former Manchester United manager Fergie, who he clashed with several times while the Scot was still coaching, and other bosses have been there for him during this tough time.
He told : "I have a good relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson at the moment. Sometimes he sends me a message when things don’t go well.
"There is a solidarity.
"I always support other managers where I can. There is no possibility not to suffer. You have to suffer.
"The difficulty in this job is to be capable to go periods where it very difficult."
SECONDS OUT Wenger says 2-0 AC Milan triumph is like winning boxing fight after KOs against Man City
Supporters have lost patience with Wenger - who is out of contract at the end of next season - and want a change of personnel at the club.
But he insists he is still the right man for the job.
LATEST ARSENAL NEWS
He said: "It's not the person they hate, they hate the manager who doesn't deliver the performance.
"I can make that difference.
"But I'm just unhappy that we lose the games. I want to win, win with style even, so it's very ambitious. When we don't do it of course I'm suffering like everyone else.
"Arsenal is 30 million people, it's not the suffering of one person, you want to make 30 million people happy and that's what you care about."
Wenger is so determined to get Arsenal up and running that he is having sleepless nights racking his brains for ideas.
Wenger and Fergie's rivalry in quotes
Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson ended their long-running feud towards the end of the Scot's career. But here, we look back at the famous blows they traded...
After Wenger was appointed Arsenal boss in 1996, Fergie said: "They say he’s an intelligent man, right? Speaks five languages? I’ve got a 15-year-old boy from the Ivory Coast who speaks five languages."
Complaining about fixture allocation for the Red Devils, Wenger said: "It’s wrong the league programme is extended so United can rest up and win everything."
Fergie responded: "He’s a novice. He should keep his opinions to Japanese football."
After the Gunners did the double over United in 2001-02 season, Fergie moaned: "He never comes for a drink with the opposing manager after matches.
"He's the only manager in the Premiership not to do so. It is a tradition here. It would be good for him to accept the tradition."
After Cesc Fabregas threw a slice of pizza at Fergie in a tunnel bust-up in 2004-05 season, the Scot called Wenger a "disgrace".
The Frenchman replied: "Ferguson does what he wants and you [the press] are all down at his feet. He doesn't interest me and doesn't matter to me at all. I will never answer to any provocation from him any more.
"He has lost all sense of reality. He is going out looking for a confrontation, then asking the person he is confronting to apologise."
He said: "It's part of the job. It is surviving disappointments and finding solutions, it can make you a better manager to face crisis."
Wenger fears that 22 years of hard work at Arsenal - including three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups - is being forgotten about as fans dwell over current form.
He said: "Football is first about values, if I can leave that behind me and that maybe somewhere people respect that Arsenal is [not only] about winning or losing, but as well about what is important in the game.
"My regret personally is that has gone completely underwater. You don't speak about that anymore, it's only about the side of the game that is important but is not essential."