Arsene Wenger was once considered a genius at Arsenal.

After arriving in north London in 1996, the Frenchman's impact was almost immediate as he won the Premier League in 1998.

He then followed that success up with another triumphant campaign in 2002, before cementing his legacy in both Arsenal and Premier League history by guiding his team to an unbeaten season in 2004.

However, since that remarkable campaign in 2004, Arsenal have not come close to winning the title, and only have a couple of FA Cup's and Community Shield's to show for their efforts.

And, after failing to qualify for the Champions League last season, the Wenger Out brigade were in full flow as fans had come disillusioned with the Frenchman's constant failures.

Despite the heavy criticism from fans, Arsenal's owner, Stan Kroenke, has always maintained his support for the Frenchman.

In an exclusive interview with the Mirror, Kroenke once again expressed his support for the under-fire manager, and also revealed why he believes Wenger is still the man for the job.

Kroenke said: "Arsene is strong, he’s focused and I think he showed through all that

"It’s easy to change coaches and people do it all the time. But the hardest thing is to replicate success and remain competitive.

"When you have someone that passionate, when you get one who has really demonstrated that level of excellence – a good character – do you say: ‘Hey, we should get rid of him or we should make a change.’

"I’m sure he was thinking through if he wants to go on. If I see anything, then I think he is more focused than ever – when I’m around him. Focused on winning. I really think I do see that more than ever. He wants to win these things.

"He’s really focused and really smart, he wants to win the things we are talking about.

"We have dealt with this a lot in different organisations and we just think that Arsene is doing a great job and he’s the right guy."

Unfortunately for Arsene Wenger, in the past 13 years he has failed to deliver the trophy that Arsenal fans crave most: the Premier League.

And with Arsenal already nine points behind leaders Manchester City, it seems criticism of Wenger by Arsenal fans will not go away any time soon.