Wenger praises Pellegrini's City stint

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After denting Manchester City's hopes of Champions League football, Arsene Wenger has hailed their outgoing boss Manuel Pellegrini.

Arsene Wenger believes Manuel Pellegrini has excelled at Manchester City despite their late-season stumbles in pursuit of a place in the top four.

City were held to a 2-2 draw by Wenger's Arsenal on Sunday having been beaten 4-2 by Southampton in their previous Premier League clash, opening the door for Manchester United to leapfrog them into fourth place with a win at West Ham on Tuesday.

Pellegrini led City to the semi-finals of the Champions League, only to be knocked out by Real Madrid last week in a meek surrender at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The Chilean, who is to be replaced by Pep Guardiola, has won one Premier League title and the League Cup twice in his tenure, but saw most fans leave the Etihad Stadium before he took a lap of honour with his players after his final home game in charge against Arsenal.

But Wenger said of outgoing City boss: "I believe overall Manuel Pellegrini has done very well at Manchester City.

"When you look at the players today [Sunday], how they fought for him, that is a great credit to a manage.

"And as a man he is like by everybody and he has a lot of dignity and respect for the game, and I respect that."