Arsene Wenger has always been a custodian of football as the beautiful game.Even during the desperate final seasons of his Arsenal tenure, you could always rely on the 'Le Professeur' to back his pure, passing brand of football and conservative transfer spending.Ok, sure, there are exceptions to both of those claims but let's be honest here, Wenger still stood head and shoulders above the rest when it came to defending the essence and joy of the sport.

Wenger's love for the beautiful game

And for that reason, one can't help feeling that his progression into the role of FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development since leaving Arsenal is a positive one for the future of football.

However, when Wenger isn't tinkering and tweaking the mechanics of the sport we all love, you can probably rely on him to be giving his opinion on the latest big match as a pundit for beIN SPORTS.

As such, Wenger was on hand when the Old Trafford protests led to the shock postponement of Manchester United's scheduled Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Liverpool fan BACKS Man Utd fans for their historic protest (Football Terrace)

Wenger on punditry duties

Alongside Andy Gray and Richard Keys, the 71-year-old reacted as the anti-Glazers sentiment culminated in fans storming the Old Trafford pitch as well as the deployment of local police.

However, more to the point, Wenger was focused on what the Old Trafford protests really mean and how fans are perceiving the modern game in which ideas like the European Super League emerge.

And who better than the intelligent and eloquent Frenchman to break down exactly why, to put things bluntly, contemporary football appears to be going to hell in a handcart?

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Wenger slams the modern game

Wenger mused during the broadcast: "The importance of money has become bigger and bigger.

“Why? For example, football is unpredictable as a sport, but the money and the grouping of the best players in a small number of clubs has made it more predictable.

“To give you one example, take the Champions League semi-finals, you have basically the four richest clubs in the world in the semi-finals; Chelsea, Man City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid

“And you come back next year and you will have the same again or maybe Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United, so you will have four of the six, seven, eight richest clubs in the world.

“That means clubs like Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa, it’s finished forever.”

Can we get a round of applause for Wenger there, please? Well, ok, it's a lamentable situation that this is even a topic of conversation, but let's be grateful that big names are standing up against it.

Besides, Wenger is undoubtedly a powerful player in the sport both in terms of his name status and position in the big boardrooms, so perhaps there is some semblance of light at the end of the tunnel.

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And it really underpins his status as one of football's greatest minds - as shown by his indelible impact on Premier League football - by way of how brilliantly he summarised the situation.

Wenger reacts to Man Utd protests

And Wenger also addressed the Old Trafford protests directly, responding to a comparison between the demonstration and Gooners calling for his head during his final months as Arsenal manager.

According to the Manchester Evening News, Wenger replied: “First of all you always have to know whether this is the majority.

"We live in a society where the protesters aren’t always the majority. The media only consider the minority of protesters. 

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“I would say as a football fan I was against the Super League project because it ignores what makes football great.”