Nwankwo Kanu says he understands Arsenal fans want the Premier League trophy, but achieving that aim is not just about Arsène Wenger.

Kanu was speaking to scorenigeria.com.ng about a variety of topics, and he was inevitably asked about whether Arsène Wenger should be kicked out after over 20 years with the Gunners.

The Nigerian started by saying that it wasn’t for him to decide, explaining: “In terms of years, yes, Wenger has stayed long, but it is for the board of the club to decide.

“Every Arsenal fan wants the Premier League trophy, they have won enough of the FA Cup. As a true Arsenal fan, an ex-player of the club for that matter, I want them to make waves, to achieve something.

“If as a player, I’m playing for a club, sometimes it is not the coach that you look at. You look at yourself and say I want to win the league. And as a team sport, every player should stand up and ask ‘what is happening to us’.

“I don’t see football from the point that only the coach will have to do this, do that, no. If you have good players and they believe they are good, then they have to show you they are good, not only showing the coach, but as well the whole club that they are good.”

Obviously after more than 20 years at the club, every player involved in matches is either someone Wenger signed, or someone he’s chosen to give a chance to from the youth academy. So in the end many fans will say it all comes back to him anyway.

But Arsène can’t step out onto the pitch and play for them, and when players who appear to have a great amount of potential don’t always show it when it matters, there’s not much the manager can do.

Perhaps the boss is signing players who are more prone to this kind of inconsistency, in which case it’s back on him again.

But I think the credit and blame for good and bad performances has to be shared equally.

Sometimes a player has a bad day, sometimes a manager makes a poor decision, and on those occasions you understand why fans want to blame those individuals , but over the course of the season it should hopefully level out.