Villa manager Martin O’Neill takes his team to Arsenal insisting only Gunners counterpart Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson can truly count their jobs as safe.

The claret and blues chief reckons the sacking of Mark Hughes at Manchester City is further evidence of the growing instability in football today.

O’Neill believes Wenger, in charge of the Gunners since 1996 and Ferguson, Manchester United boss for 23 years, are the only two managers who can genuinely be counted as exempt from the chop – himself included.

“I think Manchester City might well be a microcosm of the game and that’s what happens,” said O’Neill.

“I’m not really sure that, outside Manchester United and Arsenal, you could ever really call anything really stable.

“Those managers have been there for a long time because they deserve to be there. Their records prove they should be there. But outside of that, I wouldn’t want to talk about stability here at a football club.”

Villa arrive in Londontomorrow  for the crunch showdown billed as serious Champions League contenders on the back of four straight Premier League wins.

But O’Neill only has to go back to the reaction to Villa’s opening-day defeat to Wigan to know how quickly things change.

“I work on the assumption myself that results are what counts,” he added. “Performances are great and I am delighted the side is playing so well.

“But defeat is just around the corner so I wouldn’t be at all sure about stability We lost the opening day against Wigan and it was all doom and gloom. There was even talk that if we didn’t buck up we could be relegated.”

O’Neill insists he may freshen the side up with two games in three days.

He added: “It is a big period for us and I am quite sure we will utilise the players in that period.”