Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has lent his support to beleaguered Joe Kinnear the interim manager at Newcastle. The Frenchman is confident that Kinnear's appointment will benefit Newcastle United.

He told the club's official website: "I know (him) very well and I like him personally. I feel this criticism is unfair because you cannot ask somebody who is out of a job for four, five or six years and has an opportunity to show his quality to refuse this role.

"Joe is an optimist and he thinks 'ok, I have the job for a short time but if I do well I might stay in here'. For somebody who has been out of a job for such a long time you cannot deny that opportunity to him.

"I believe he has done the right thing. He has the quality and the strengths to maybe turn people around and change their opinion about him.

"It's a tough job but as well a job without any risk because the club is in such a bad situation you can only do well."