Arsene Wenger met with the press on Tuesday evening and revealed that he has more motivation now than he did when he arrived at Arsenal – a club he built with no outside resources.

Operating under huge pressure from a large section of the fanbase to step aside after his long tenure, Wenger seemed defiant as he answered the media’s questions ahead of Champions League Mission Impossible: Part 8.

“I have no doubt about my huge motivation,” said Wenger. “I built the club, and the way I did it was with hard work. I had no external resources.

“If you compare the club when I arrived and how it is today, it is moved forward, and without any help from anybody.

Arsenal's French coach Arsene Wenger sits during a press conference at the the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on March 15, 2016, on the eve of the Round 16 of the UEFA Champions League football match between FC Barcelona and Arsenal FC. / AFP / JOSEP LAGO
Going nowhere (JOSEP LAGO/AFP/Getty Images)

“I am more motivated than the day I arrived, and I feel even more the pressure and the responsibility to keep this club moving forward.

“When you’re a long time somewhere, you always question your motivation, but I don’t question mine.

“I don’t question my dedication. It is 100 per cent and I give more time to my club than when I arrived.”

There’s no doubt that the club is far more than it was before Arsene arrived, but it’s unlikely that his comments will go down to well with a large section of supporters who feel it’s more like Arsene FC than Arsenal FC these days (not our view).

If latest reports are to be believed, the Arsenal board are happy to let Wenger decide when he leaves. On these recent comments, that won’t be anytime soon.

We’d all like nothing more than to see him turn it around, but it’s hard to see how he will do that given his problems doing so this season given the players at his disposal.

We’d love nothing more than to see him do just that, but he has zero room for error now.

Although no-one is expecting anything to happen against Barcelona, all eyes will be on his side against Everton to see how they respond to whatever happens on Wednesday night.

Will they lift themselves to make sure they are well-placed should Leicester falter? Or will they just shrug the game off because it’s ‘only Everton’?

Hmm.