Former West Ham United and new Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce has taken aim at Arsene Wenger – claiming he enjoyed beating the Arsenal boss and that the Frenchman ‘couldn’t handle’ it when he didn’t come away with all three points.
During Allardyce’s term at Bolton Wanderers from 1999 to 2007, he defeated Arsene Wenger more than any other football manager and admitted in his new book Big Sam: The Autobiography that he enjoyed getting on the wrong side of his rival.
Of course, Arsenal beat us sometimes, but we drew with them or beat them more often than expected and Wenger couldn’t handle it.
There was one time he wouldn’t shake hands with me at Highbury because we got a draw. I saw him ripping his tie off and throwing it on the floor in anger.
He takes it all very personally and has an air or arrogance. He’s not one for inviting you into his office for a drink after games.
He’s a fantastic manager, I cannot deny that. But the more I could wind him up, the more I liked it.
Allardyce was recently appointed Sunderland boss and will face West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in his first fixture before coming up against north East rivals Newcastle United in his first home game.
Wenger and Allardyce will come up against each other in the first week of December, where the new Sunderland boss will look to continue frustrating the Gunners man, who has been in his job at Arsenal for 19 years.
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