London, Oct 13: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Thursday backed England interim manager Gareth Southgate to take over the role in a permanent capacity.
"Is Southgate the outstanding candidate for the job? Yes. In England, there's always the demand for the big names -- that is the difficulty. What is most important to me is the competence of the person and, if a person is competent, then he can make a name for himself," Wenger told reporters here on Thursday.