Arsene Wenger has admitted he could have been sacked as Arsenal manager had his side not won the 2014 FA Cup final against Hull - the same side they face in the fifth round of this year's tournament.
The 3-2 win at Wembley two years ago ended a nine-year trophy drought for the Gunners that had led many fans to question Wenger's position. Now the Frenchman has admitted he had his own doubts about the future.
Asked if he would have continued as manager if Arsenal had been beaten in that game, Wenger replied: "I don't know. Honestly, I don't know."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
As it was, the Gunners recovered from a disastrous start to triumph in extra time. They went on to win the cup again last season and hope this year to become the first team since Blackburn Rovers in the 1890s to win three in a row. It is also the third consecutive year they have faced Hull.
The 2014 final was a dramatic affair. Wenger's side came from two goals down to claim the trophy and the Frenchman signed a new contract a fortnight later, recalls The Times. The paper adds that Wenger "owes gratitude to Kieran Gibbs, who cleared a header off the line that would have given Hull a 3-0 lead in the final".
Goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny followed, before Aaron Ramsey scored the winner in extra time.
Had Arsenal not won, it would have "been a problem", admitted Wenger. At the time, his future "was up in the air and we had to give everything to win that final and after to reflect", he said.
"It was the turning point," he added, reflecting on the Gunners' success since then and his own continued tenure in the job. "Still, today in the modern job, you have to explain on what you do not achieve and why you did not win."
