David Dein defends Arsenal's Arsene Wenger as 'most dedicated football man ever'

Dein has been widely credited with the appointment of Wenger and, despite the absence of silverware at Arsenal for more than three years, he has urged patience towards a manager who has previously won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.

"He is a victim of his own success," Dein said. "I call Arsene Wenger a miracle worker. He has a young team, coming through. I think on Saturday the average age of the midfield and strikers was under 22 – that's phenomenal.

"Never lose faith in Arsene's judgment. He is the most dedicated, focused and intelligent football man I have ever come across. The team has a wobble and everybody criticises him, and that's grossly unfair."

After a run of three matches without a win, Arsenal defeated Manchester United, the Premier League and European Cup holders on Saturday, to answer some of Wenger's critics.

Dein remains adamant that it is too early to pass judgment.

"See what happens at the end of the season and see if the team are good enough," he said. "You are seeing quality football week in, week out. We're still in November, not May. So, let's see what happens then. We're six points behind and you can't say we're not going to close that."

Dein, who has recently stepped down from the board of Alisher Usmanov's Red & White Holdings, also expressed fears regarding the cost of watching football in England.

"There's a danger you are cutting off the pipeline which is necessary for the next generation," he said. "The average age [of spectators] has gone up, it's more expensive. I think we've reached the top level now."