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Wenger - Consistency equals quality

Arsene Wenger believes that the consistency Arsenal have shown in finishing in the top four for the past 17 years shows the quality of the club.

The Frenchman will take charge of his 1,000th game for the Gunners when they travel to west London to take on Chelsea on Saturday.

When asked about the fact it has been 502 matches since his side have won a trophy, Wenger said it depends on how you frame success in the modern game.

"After all the trophies come and go, but I believe you see the quality of the management in the consistency of their achievement"

Arsene Wenger

“I can take a distance with that," he said. "If winning a trophy is winning the League Cup and finishing 12th in the league… I think the most important thing for the quality of the club, of the management of the club, is the consistency of the achievement.

“After all the trophies come and go, but I believe you see the quality of the management in the consistency of their achievement. If you finish one year first and the second year 12th, I don't believe that [is real quality]… the real quality of management is linked with consistency.

“Of course we want to win trophies, but I think if you look well at the consistency that we have shown in the last 15 or 17 years, and you compare with all other clubs, that is the most difficult thing to achieve.

“In individual finals it's great players who win you games, and we have great players, so I'm confident we can win trophies.”