Wenger all heart for Benitez

Sevilla v ArsenalArsene Wenger left England for warmer climes yesterday but the Arsenal manager could still feel the ferocious heat of the Premier League. "It just looks like you are more quickly burned in the place of the village now than before," he said, evoking images of stakes and witch trials. "The fire is always raging."

Wenger was alarmed to hear that Billy Davies had become the latest manager to perish, sacked by Derby County, but his interest was equally taken by Rafael Benitez's travails at Liverpool.

While not privy to the internal machinations at Anfield, Wenger had a clear outline of the recent tensions. Offering his sympathy to his counterpart Benitez, who is at loggerheads with the club's new American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks, principally over January transfer funds, Wenger suggested that the situation was the inevitable consequence of arriviste money men dabbling in areas where their expertise did not lie.

Club politics have already contributed to the departures of two leading managers elsewhere in the capital this season - Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Martin Jol at Tottenham. Wenger sees further caution in the Liverpool tale.

"Benitez has done remarkably well and certainly what's happening at Liverpool is not down to the sport or to results, it's down to other, internal differences. Apparently, there are differences. I have always had the support of my board and I think Ferguson had that as well, and we are the longest-serving managers in the league. There's no secret in it," said Wenger.

Life is good for Wenger at present. His team have not lost all season, they lead the Premier League and are also sitting prettily in Champions League Group H. They take on an out-of-form Sevilla tonight, knowing that victory would ensure a top-placed finish. Wenger admitted that it was a "gamble" to leave William Gallas and Emmanuel Adebayor resting at home while Gael Clichy has joined the ranks of the injured.