TONY PULIS thinks Arsene Wenger will go down as a managerial legend after deciding to call time on his 22 years as Arsenal manager at the end of the season.

Gunners fans have been split over whether it is the right time for the Frenchman to leave the Emirates, with attendances falling and a failure to keep up with the Premier League’s top four.

Wenger won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups during his time in charge, including two doubles in 1998 and 2002. He could yet leave on the back of winning the Europa League, which would secure Arsenal’s place in the Champions League next season.

On top of that Arsenal, despite criticism over his spending, have remained a club very much in control of their finances and Pulis thinks that deserves to be recognised and applauded ahead of his departure.

The Middlesbrough manager said: “Wenger has been an absolute, more so now he has decided to leave, legend that will always rank highly. He will be up with Herbert Chapman and the likes.

“Not only has he been successful, he had one of the great teams of English football - the Invincibles. People forget what Wenger has done over the last eight or nine years, to build a brand new training ground, brand new stadium, and to keep the club in profit during those times.

“He has built that club on a very solid base, with good principles. He should be admired not only for how he has managed teams but also how he has managed clubs on and off the pitch.

“I will be very surprised now that the dye has been cast that anyone would wish any ill on Arsene. Anybody who has been connected with Arsenal will not see anything other than the great job in the club he has done.”

Over the last ten years of managing in the Premier League before dropping down to the Championship with Middlesbrough, Pulis has had numerous encounters with Wenger during spells with Stoke, Crystal Palace and West Brom.

Pulis said: “I’ve managed to beat him at Stoke, WBA and Palace … I have done well against him over the years (smiles). Arsene will be a legend at that club regardless of winning the cups in the last couple of years. He had one of the greatest sides.

“He wanted to put a structure in place, a culture in place, not only with the stadium and the training ground, but the culture of the whole place.

“He wanted to do things in the right way for when he leaves the club. People will appreciate what he has done. The one disappointment was they didn’t win the Champions League during his time and he had teams capable of doing that. That will be a big disappointment for him but he has done a fantastic job there.”