Everton boss Roberto Martinez has revealed that he has great admiration for the job that Arsene Wenger has done in his 19 years at Arsenal.
The Gunners have been a permanent fixture in the top four of the Premier League since the Frenchman's arrival in 1996, winning the top-flight crown three times during his tenure at the club.
Martinez believes that Wenger's achievements in changing Arsenal's ethos could not be replicated in modern football, and feels that makes his and the club's sustained success even more remarkable.
He told Sky Sports News: "You see what Arsene Wenger has done over the years, introducing a philosophy and building a football club. That's something that I always admire in a manager. Of course it's important to win football games, but it's more important how you win those games and the work behind it.
"I think Arsene arrived into the British game with an incredible change in preparation, of lifestyle of footballers, and ways of playing the game. That influence has been clear over the years on many, many individuals and many coaches around Europe.
"It is a significant role and a role that I really appreciate personally, putting in all the work and changing the philosophy of a football club and setting an incredible, strong legacy in a football club in a very important league. You would always say what Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson did for Manchester United and Arsenal is quite impossible to replicate or to do in the modern game."
Everton face the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium later today.
Simon Sinclair
