Arsene Wenger has admitted that he will not stick around at Arsenal for long enough to match Sir Alex Ferguson's achievement of spending 26 years at one club.

Ferguson bowed out as Manchester United manager in 2013 after more than a quarter-of-a-century at the helm, during which he had many a spat with Wenger.

The Scotsman came to his old rival's defence earlier this week, however, claiming that the criticism he has faced from Arsenal fans has been "ridiculous".

Wenger welcomes the kind words from Ferguson but does not expect to equal his opposite number's record, which would require him to remain in North London for another five seasons.

"No I don't think I will match him on that front," he told reporters. "He did extremely well and what he did with 26 years is absolutely exceptional because you look at what happens in the game, usually average life expectancy of a manager is 18 months, so our total is quite unusual.

"It is welcome because he knows the difficulty of the job. He is maybe the greatest manager who has worked in England. We had a few big rivalries but time has ended all that and I think we have big respect. I have big respect for him and he as well respects what I have done in the game."

Wenger is due to see his contract expire after Saturday's FA Cup final meeting with Chelsea and is still yet to officially announce whether he intends to stay on.