Patrick Vieira believes that Arsenal are losing games they should have won because they lack a “physical presence” that once made them so successful. They play some of the best football in the league.
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‘We work very hard and I can not tell you much more.
Having not built upon the signing of Granit Xhaka just like they did when only signing Petr Cech last summer, Arsene Wenger has thus far failed to adequately fill big gaps in his squad. It was a game of top level intensity and I believe we responded well to last week’s disappointment.
“Yes. We have no limit in age”, said Wenger when asked if he would sign a centre-back.
Wenger explained: “I would spend £300m on a player – if I had £300m”.
“I enjoy watching Arsenal play now”. He is working within the parameters of what Arsenal have to spend.
“You have to respect the decisions of people and that’s part of it and I think on every transfer market you have one or two who have decisions to make and you have to respect them”, he said. But we also have 600 employees and we need to have a responsible attitude as well.
“It is a bit surprising that we come out of a football match and we do not speak about the football, we speak about money”. If we find the players to strengthen our team then we are not reluctant to spend the money. That means there are very high wages linked with it and if they are wrong, they will have these players with high wages who can not move anywhere else.
“He will have to find the right balance because if he thinks he will win games by himself that will be a massive mistake for him, if he tries to do something that he can’t do that will be a massive mistake as well”.
Mikel Arteta captained Arsenal from 2014 until retiring this summer and followed the route of Vieira to Manchester City, working in Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at the Etihad Stadium.
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The 66-year-old Frenchman, who has been in charge of the Gunners since October 1996, urged the fans to trust his judgement and said he had completed over 400 transfers during his time at Arsenal. “The ideal example is Ajax – you see all the old players working for the club, on the field, in the office – the door is always open for them – but Arsenal don’t do it and I don’t know why”.
