By Adam Crafton
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Ian Wright has labelled Arsenal fans 'deluded' if they still support Arsene Wenger as manager, joining a host of Arsenal legends in rounding on the Gunners' boss.
Speaking on Absolute Radio, the former Arsenal striker said: 'There's a lot of deluded Arsenal fans, who are out in the wilderness, still saying "In Arsene We Trust" and all that.
'It is a unique position that Wenger is in – I think that any other manager in any country, in any world, with a record like this and no prospect of light at the end of the tunnel – they would have been gone by now.
Speak your mind: Ian Wright blasted Arsenal fans who still backed the sentiment of 'In Wenger we trust'
And Wright, one of Arsenal's greatest ever forwards, has called on Arsenal and their manager to start being honest with their supporters.
'When you hear him do interviews after a game and say that he has a great team with a good spirit – well, hang on a minute, we really are not seeing that.
'He may be seeing something in training that we aren't seeing but he doesn't tell the truth and say what is happening. And what I've said for years and years is that I want some transparency.
'I just want to know, what is going on? Have you (Wenger) got any money to spend or haven't you? Is it the board not giving you the money to spend or is it the case that the board are giving you money to spend but you aren't spending it?
'Is that too hard a question to answer? Arsenal, with the size of that club that I love, should not be in the predicament that it finds itself in right now.'
However, Wright does not believe that Wenger will choose to leave the club out of his own volition, telling presenter Christian O'Connell replied: 'No. He won't step down. I don't think he's that kind of person.'
The former England striker is the latest in a series of former Arsenal heroes who have blasted Wenger since Arsenal's penalty shoot-out defeat to Bradford in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
Pressure: Arsene Wenger is under the cosh at the moment with fans and former club legends turning on him
Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who spent three years at the club in the 1990s, has this morning claimed that Arsenal are now seen as a stepping stone to greater things and fears that the club will struggle to attract top-name signings given their current form.
Petit, 42, said: 'The big worry today is that even if Arsenal have the money who are they going to get to join the club now?
'The idea they have been giving off for seven years is that it's a club which doesn't win trophies and at the end of the season their best players will leave.
'The feeling is that Arsenal are creating a generation of players who will leave in the hope of going to another club in order to win something.'
Meanwhile, Wenger has also come under fire from former Arsenal boss George Graham, who has criticised the manager and the board for their lack of ambition in the transfer market, and does not believe that the club are capable of winning another Premier League title.
Graham, who also managed Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur, told The Sun: "I don't think Arsenal are ever going to compete with Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United.
Struggle: Emmanuel Petit (left) said big name players might not want to join the club
'I thought they could have competed with United because they don't spend the money the other two do, but Arsenal are not going to compete with them either.
'They have got a structure at the club on transfers and wages. They are very strict on those. They have more or less said to fans that is the way they are going to run the club.
'They can still pick up cups and qualify for Europe, but will they win the Premier League title again? I can't see it.'
However, former Gunners' midfielder Ray Parlour has defended Wenger, explaining that Wenger will be dealing with the issues behind the scenes.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, he explained: 'I played under Arsene Wenger and thought he was a great manager when I was there. He was always one of those managers you could talk to.'
Silverware: George Graham (right) and Tony Adams at the end of the 1990-91 season in which Arsenal won the title and the former picked up the manager of the year trophy
'Arsene Wenger is one of those sort of guys who will always try to stick up for his players.
'We would have meetings after games and it would all come out in the dressing room, which (is how) it should be. It is a private matter between the players, the manager and the staff.
'It was quite embarrassing to lose to Bradford, there is no doubting that, but I think he is one of those guys who does criticise people behind the scenes instead of in the press.'
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