‘On the fringe’: Arsene Wenger now praises ‘exceptional’ job being done by Newcastle man

Heading into the weekend's clash between Newcastle United and Arsenal, former Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has been speaking about Eddie Howe.

Arsene Wenger is Arsenal's most successful manager, delivering Premier League titles to the London club amid a pulsating rivalry with Manchester United.

He brought players like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira to the Premier League and was the man behind The Invincibles. The famous Arsenal side that went undefeated in the league for an entire season.

Arsene Wenger says Eddie Howe has done an 'exceptional job'

It's safe to say then, that he knows his onions when it comes to football which is why his recent praise of Eddie Howe should not be taken lightly.

beIN Sports spoke with Wenger about Newcastle heading into the weekend's game and FIFA's Head of Global Football Development was extremely complimentary when it came to the job Howe is doing.

“Overall I must say in the last two years he’s done an exceptional job, even you know, just beating Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in the Champions League after having not played in the Champions League for a very very long time.

“Now, you consider them to be on the fringe of the top four. The next step for them is to be consistent in the top four and after that to challenge for the Premier League.”

Wenger knows his stuff but Eddie Howe is ripping up the rule book

Wenger knows that success doesn't happen overnight, but somebody clearly didn't tell Eddie Howe as he's taken Newcastle from relegation favourites to the Champions League in under two years.

Howe is going at his own pace and his pace is Usain Bolt with a rocket pack.

That hasn't stopped the Newcastle manager from being gracious when hearing Wenger's praise as he told the media this morning at his press conference.

“Very grateful for those comments. Arsene was one of the managers who inspired me. The Invincible team was some of the best football I’ve ever seen. I can’t respect him anymore.”