ARSENE WENGER was convinced he would have been sacked by Arsenal if he had NOT won the 2014 FA Cup, according to Steve Bruce.
The Gunners are favourites to lift the Premier League title this term with Mikel Arteta – once a player under Wenger at the club – after an impressive start to the campaign.
Arteta’s men are three points clear at the top after eight games, having conceded just three goals.
They are hoping to avenge three successive second-placed league finishes on the spin.
It is a world away from the latter stages of Frenchman Wenger’s reign in North London, who went 10 years without a trophy after the 2004 title-winning Invincibles triumph.
That drought finally ended at Wembley in 2014 with a 3-2 FA Cup victory over Bruce’s Hull City.
They had to come from 2-0 down after just eight minutes with Aaron Ramsey’s extra-time winner.
Wenger would go on to manage Arsenal until leaving in the summer of 2018, ending his 22-year spell.
Before he exit, he would win a further two FA Cups in 2015 and 2017, making it seven in total.
And speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Bruce revealed: “It’s funny, after the game I remember having a cup of tea with Arsene Wenger.
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“He said: ‘If I had lost today, Steve, I think I was gone’.
“We were 2-0 up and you think it’s going to be your time, but we gave it our all.”
When asked about whether he could have been axed had he lost that final, Wenger revealed in 2015: “Honestly, I don’t know.
“It was up in the air and we had to give everything to win that final. If we had lost it I don’t know.
“It would have been a problem if we had not won.
“It would have been a massive disappointment for everyone, but we won.”
Meanwhile, the Gunners romped to a brilliant 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
A 13-minute blitz in the second half saw Arsenal take full control with goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Gabriel Martinelli and a brace from Viktor Gyokeres.
The result means Arteta’s side have won all three of their league phase games in Europe this season.
They are third in the table on equal points with Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.
