Gunners’s fixtures pile-up

on Sunday.
Wenger could face five games in 13 days against Manchester City, Chelsea, West Ham and if they beat Swansea then they travel to Brighton in the fourth round.

The Gunners boss says he is clearing the decks to bring in new signings with Barcelona’s David Villa top of his wanted list with Johan Djourou and Marouane Chamakh already gone and Sebastien Squillaci and Andrey Arshavin likely to be on their way out.

Wenger said: “If we find one or two in the transfer market, then why not? Let’ first keep the players we have and maybe add one or two because we’ve lost Chamakh and Djourou now.

“I am frustrated because I wouldn’t want a replay but if that’s the choice between going out or staying in the hat then I’ll take the replay.”

Wenger was full of praise for the way his side fought back after going a goal down and also claimed they should have had a penalty after accusing Swansea’s Dwight Tiendalli of tripping Aaron Ramsey.

Wenger added: “We should have won this game. The first half was locked and one-paced but the second half was more open. In the second half we created many chances and suddenly we found ourselves one down.

“We kept going. We’ve shown character and quality. We’ve shown quality and heart and it will be quite good if we can repeat that.

“I thought it was a penalty and the ref saw it. He didn’t give it because he thought the guy hasn’t done it on purpose.

“I thought it was accidental but he didn’t trip himself. He was caught clearly by the leg of the Swansea player. He had an hesitation the referee and in the end he didn’t give it.”

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup also admitted his first instinct was that it was a penalty but claimed a draw was a fair result.

Laudrup said: “On the bench my initial reaction was that it was a penalty but I haven’t seen it. But sometimes you see it after and you say it wasn’t or the other way around.

“The overall feeling is maybe a fair result. To be fair, Arsenal put us under pressure. We came back and that shows great character from our team. It shows we are building with this squad.”

Meanwhile, Wenger has offered a fascinating insight into how he sets a “more socialist model” wage structure at Arsenal and how he believes that the looming financial fair play will end the era of players being paid £200 000 a week.

As he prepares to finally offer Theo Walcott close to the £100 000 a week the England international has been seeking for his new contract, Wenger revealed it was he himself who insisted that the gap between the club’s highest-earners and lowest-paid players is narrower than at the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea.

“We pay well. We pay very well,” Wenger said ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup third-round tie away to Swansea City. “I’ve spent all my life making sure people who work for us are paid well and I believe if you can do it, you do it.”

Wenger said that his principle was “to pay something that makes sense and is defendable in front of every single player” adding: “We make exceptions sometimes but they are not maybe so high. If you want to keep making profit you have to respect that.”

Walcott has been in a stand-off with Arsenal for months, having rejected a five-year deal worth £75 000 a week, an increase on his current £60 000-a-week earnings.

The 23 year-old is a free agent in the summer and until recently it appeared he was more likely to leave than stay although Wenger is now optimistic, having also belatedly given Walcott the chance to play as a central striker, as he prepares to make the England international his club’s highest earner after Lukas Podolski.

Asked whether he set the wage structure at Arsenal, which has been criticised for having a too narrow band compared to other clubs, Wenger said: “Yes. I don’t know how it works at others. But it’s not only me, it’s in co-operation with the board. When we want to go ‘far’ I ask for the authorisation of the board.”

However, it is understood that Wenger, once he is given a budget, sets the pay bands with the board deferring to his judgment.

“We have no players on £200 000 a week and I think other clubs will come down to us with financial fair play,” he said. “We have a more socialist model.”

Indeed Arsenal’s wage bill, at £143 million a year, according to the latest figures, is the fourth highest in the English Premier League and yet the club has not won a trophy for seven years — although it has qualified for the Champions League every season.

One interesting comparison is that while United pay star names such as Wayne Rooney more than £200 000 a week, Danny Welbeck was earning £15 000 a week despite playing for the first-team until he signed an improved contract last August.

At Arsenal the top earner Podolski is reputed to earn just over £100 000 a week while several squad players are paid £60 000 a week.

That explains how the average wage at United has been estimated at £64 000 a week while at Arsenal it is claimed to be £61 000 a week.

Wenger is one of the highest-paid managers, on £7 million a year, and he admitted that “it’s not enough” for Arsenal to simply qualify for the Champions League every year.

It is time for a trophy to be won although, naturally, given it is only the third round of the competition he dismissed suggestions that the FA Cup represented Arsenal’s best chance this season. — The Mirror.