• Football

Arsene Wenger defends lack of summer spending

ESPN staff
August 21, 2013
Wenger calls for calm from Arsenal fans

Under-fire Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger snapped at a press conference ahead of tonight's Champions league match at Fenerbahce when repeatedly quizzed over his failure to buy players over the summer.

The tipping point came when asked to confirm Arsenal had made a bid for Newcastle's Yohan Cabaye.

"It's not down to me to explain everything I do," Wenger replied. "I am never happy when our fans are not happy but I cannot listen every minute to every state of mind.

"You don't know if we did make a bid and you have come to a conclusion without knowing everything. If we do a transfer we will announce it. We don't want to hurt Newcastle or anyone else.

"But you can't reproach us for not buying and then reproach us when we try to buy as well. That's a bit contradictory. I just do what I think is right for Arsenal Football Club. That's it.

"When we think we have found the right players, we do it. In the past 16 years we have been very successful with transfers and if you look at the players who will play against Fenerbahce, they are top quality.

"It is important to rate what you have and our fans have to understand that. Less than two weeks in the transfer window is still a long time because 75% of things happen in the last 10 days."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd
ESPN staff Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices