Wenger, who may be entering his last season as the manager of Arsenal, has praised the club’s ambition and stability ahead of their Premier League opener against Liverpool.
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“Per is a very respected figure in the dressing room, is loved as well and is also a very demanding figure”, Wenger told Arsenal Player. I think it is absolutely natural [for the captain] to be [him].
Though experienced and reliable for Arsenal, Gunners fans have still been taken by surprise at Wenger’s selection, with many having assumed that Petr Cech or Laurent Koscielny were the most likely candidates to succeed Arteta.
‘The second ball was to [Mesut] Ozil, they caused us a lot of problems in this game.
“Most of the time it’s true – good players cost a lot of money – but you can still find players of top quality at a reasonable price sometimes”.
“If we would make the first and main mistake, then we’re thinking about if there are defensive problems [for Arsenal]”.
“I have a few options at the back that you have seen in pre-season”, Wenger said.
In the reverse fixture last season, Liverpool held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates.
Per Mertesacker and Gabriel are injured, meaning Wenger can only choose from a trio of young centre-backs – in summer signing Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and and 18-year-old Krystian Bielik – for their start to the season.
It is one of the curiosities of this season that Jurgen Klopp, who replaced Brendan Rodgers last October, is a relative veteran compared to the new coaches of the Manchester teams and Chelsea.
“Finishing above Arsenal would be great but where that means we finish I have no idea because there are a lot of other teams who could be up there”, he continued.
“What is interesting to see is that today, you have a local business and you just want to survive or you have a world business and the money comes in, whether it is Google, Facebook, football or any other sport, they are worldwide so you can’t set any limitations in the income”. If someone is late or on their phone, he is on to them – it doesn’t matter who you are.
Despite the fact the BFG suffered a serious knee injury last month and won’t play again until 2017, the Arsenal manager has not gone back on a decision he made earlier in the summer.
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“Everyone needs to take responsibility, especially in preseason and show himself from his best side”. The 24-year-old Germany worldwide is expected to set the club back in the region of £30million, a fee that supports Wenger’s beliefs that English clubs are being forced to pay more for players than their European counterparts.
