Gary Neville has hailed Arsene Wenger's "immense" achievements at Arsenal and insists that the departing manager deserves a special farewell.
The Frenchman will step down as Gunners manager at the end of the season after 22 years in North London, during which time he has led the club to three Premier League crowns and seven FA Cups.
Neville, who was part of the Manchester United side that regularly battled Arsenal for major honours in the late 1990s and early 2000s, believes that Wenger deserves to be remembered fondly by supporters of all English clubs for the "magical" legacy he will leave behind.
"He did very well, he came to England and I can't talk negatively today about him," he told Sky Sports News. "What he's achieved at Arsenal and in English football is immense. In terms of what happened, he continued to win trophies right until the very end - multiple FA Cups in the last few years - that are now being stoned upon as not being good enough. The reality of it is, if you look back through Arsenal's history, they have always gone long periods without league titles.
"This is the most successful period in Arsenal's history, the last 20 years. They've got the best stadium in this country, and he has achieved great success through that. There have been far too many people in the last few years going too far on Arsene Wenger, to the point of disrespecting him. Yeah I accept a change was required, and towards the end it hasn't been nice going to the Emirates over the last 12-18 months, seeing the fan protests and banners.
"But now is the time, in the next three or four weeks, home and away, for everyone to celebrate Arsene Wenger in the grounds he goes to, and to give him the respect he deserves not just what he's done for Arsenal but for English football. The fans have every right to do what they want to do, but particularly through social media it's very easy for us to become critical, overcritical even, of what's been achieved.
"From a fan's point of view, the cost of seats at Arsenal is huge, they have a right to turn up or not turn up, the football has been at a far lower standard over the past 18 months than Arsene had set himself previously. But the reality of it is that there won't be an Arsenal fan who looks back in 10 years time and doesn't look at it as a magical period under Arsene Wenger for what he achieved. What he has achieved is something that deserves incredible recognition."
Former Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira, currently in charge of New York City FC, is the favourite to succeed Wenger.
Daniel Lewis
