Arsene Wenger says Gary Neville is incorrect in claiming that the Arsenal manager is "either naive or arrogant" for not adapting to the style of his Premier League rivals.
Before Arsenal's goalless draw with Liverpool on Monday, Neville said on television that Arsenal needed to sign more players with "power" to complement the Gunners more "talented" footballers, and said only arrogance prevented Wenger from adopting new tactics.
Asked about Neville's comments after the game, Wenger said: "Everybody has his opinion. I could prove to you that it's not necessarily right."
Neville was speaking about the trouble that Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla face while playing a holding midfield role in front of makeshift centre-half pairing of Calum Chambers and Gabriel.
"To me it's arrogance. I think it's arrogance. I really do," Neville said. "To think that you are not going to adapt your team, to change to impact on the other teams that you're playing against and their strengths.
"It is either naive, or arrogance. Because they keep losing this way. Belief? It is mis-held belief.
"I've got great respect for Arsenal as a football club. Arsene Wenger's job is absolutely amazing.
"But I just cannot get my head around why he would not sign players of power to assist these talented players that you've got to enable them to win the league.
"It is the one big, if you like black mark, against Arsene Wenger in these last 10 years in terms of why he hasn't identified an issue with these types of players [such as Coquelin and Cazorla] -- because they cannot win the league with them. It can't happen.
"I can't think of a word to describe that bunch. I could but it wouldn't be usable on television.
"They are certainly not what you want to win you a league, the powerful characters, the strength you need running through your team whether it's a Blackburn team or a Manchester City team with Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany."
Wenger shrugged off the comments after his team managed a clean sheet against Liverpool.
"You find all kind of attributes for me since I've been here," Wenger said. "I try just to do my job well for 20 years. I leave judgement to everybody else, the assessment of the quality of my work.
"When you don't win, you're wrong and people find reasons. Are they good reasons? I have enough experience to know when it's right and when it's wrong."