Guardiola springs to Wenger's defence

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola leaped to the defence of Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger on Sunday after the Frenchman's side suffered an 8-2 demolition at the hands of English Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Guardiola, whose team knocked Arsenal out of the European Champions League last season and lured their captain Cesc Fabregas back to the Catalan capital this month, said it was hard to believe another manager could do as much for Arsenal as Wenger had over the years.
The 40-year-old former Barca and Spain midfielder also noted that the Arsenal squad that travelled to Manchester was severely depleted by injury and the loss of Fabregas as well as France international Samir Nasri who has joined Manchester City.
"We have to remember what he (Wenger) has done for football in general, Arsenal is a great team," Guardiola told a news conference ahead of Barca's opening La Liga game of the season against Villarreal on Monday.
"Of course you can always go to Manchester, who have so many good players, and Arsenal with so many injuries these things can happen," he added.
"It's not just the departure of Nasri and Cesc but also (Jack) Wilshere's injury that means he can't play and all the other injuries across the squad."