Neil Warnock believes Arsene Wenger is the Premier League’s greatest manager, and he explained why in a recent interview.

You may be surprised to learn that one of Arsene Wenger’s biggest advocates is former Sheffield United, Cardiff City and most recently Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock, but the 72-year-old recently named Wenger as his number-one Premier League manager.

Putting Wenger ahead of Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Jose Mourinho (in that order), Warnock argued that the former Arsenal boss’ influence went far beyond just coaching a team.

“Since the Premier League started if I was picking my top five managers… I would pick Arsene Wenger as the number one,” Warnock said.

“Only because he changed the whole outlook on modern footballers. He brought so many things in that had never been thought of.

“The nutritionist, the fitness guys, video, technology. He changed the whole course of it when he came into the Premier League.”

It’s certainly true that Wenger helped to alter the direction of the Premier League in many ways. Even if it’s not explicitly recognised, you can probably see the by-products of Wenger’s Arsenal spell in almost every club across the country.

Wenger also had plenty of success on the pitch, most notably the invincible season. So when you combine the off-field and on-field impact he had, it’s understandable that the likes of Warnock might see Wenger as the top dog.

It’s perhaps a little cheeky to rank Sir Alex Ferguson as low as fourth, given he’s still a fair way clear as the most successful Premier League manager. But Warnock’s argument for putting Wenger first isn’t without merit.