Top of the league in January and out of the title race at the beginning of April, Arsène Wenger and his side have come in for a lot of criticism.

Always eager to protect his players, the Arsenal boss hit back at some of the critics when he spoke to the media on Friday morning.

A lot has been said of this current Arsenal side but Wenger will always defend his players, this time by confronting the pundits who belittle them.

“The team, some people questioned their character,” the boss began. “I tell you something: this team has character and attitude.

“Some people who questioned them, I know them well, they have less character than this team has. I saw them play and even know them very closely; they should not question the character of these players because they are exceptional characters.”

523720358 arsene wenger manager of arsenal arrives gettyimages
Wenger has hit out at pundits before Saturday’s game against Norwich City. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It’s unclear whether Wenger was referring to former Arsenal players-turned-pundits or just former players in general who he saw a lot of during his playing career.

In the last couple of weeks, even the likes of Andrey Arshavin have questioned Wenger’s influence at the club and it looks like, finally, the Frenchman has had enough.

You can understand where he’s coming from: regardless of what it looks like from the outside, the character of the team shouldn’t and can’t really be judged by those inside the club, people who work with the players every day and see how they respond to each and every situation they face.

Granted, results haven’t been good enough. There are, though, times that has come down to tactics, to personnel, to selection. Disputing the character of an individual and a team is a cheap throwaway comment, something that can’t properly be assessed.

This season, Arsenal scored a last minute winner against Leicester City, thrashed Manchester United, beat Manchester City and came back to equalise with 10-men in a north London derby away from home. Don’t those results show character just as much as defeats at Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge show we don’t have it?

You tell them, Arsène.