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1,000 up! Arsene Wenger vows to deliver for trophy hungry Gunners
ARSENE WENGER insisted on the eve of his 1000th match in charge of Arsenal that you cannot judge a manager by the size of his trophy cabinet.
Which is just as well as Arsenal fans have to go back 502 games to the last time their players lifted a trophy - the FA Cup in 2005 - half of the Frenchman's reign.
Wenger, who confirmed yesterday that he would be signing an extension to his contract this summer, believes the second half of his 18-year reign with the Gunners, should be viewed as a success story.
During that time Arsenal have worked on a tight budget because of the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium yet have always qualified for the Champions League.
He said: "I know trophies are important but even when you don't win them you can still play good games and have a good season.
"Our consistency has given me the most pleasure because it is the most difficult thing to achieve. Not many are capable of staying in the top four - and we did it during a period when we had less financial resources.
"In 2006 we were in the Champions League final. Can you say we failed that season? I don't think so. But people suggest we did nothing that season at all because we didn't parade a trophy at the end of it."