adminINSTABUL. — Arsene Wenger has lost his cool with an angry message to Arsenal fans, claiming: “I don’t have to explain myself to anyone.”
Wenger also insisted that he does not have to justify his club’s transfer business to anyone.He was reacting to criticism from Newcastle boss Alan Pardew, who claimed he dropped midfielder Yohan Cabaye for the 4-0 thrashing at Manchester City on Monday night, because Arsenal had unsettled the player by making a bid for him on the eve of the game.
But the Gunners boss, who has found himself under increasing pressure from both media and fans because he has not acquired any of his transfer targets this summer, was in no mood to take any flack over Cabaye.
“There is nothing to explain,” Wenger said. “First of all, you don’t know what we have done, you don’t know if we did bid and you have come to a conclusion without knowing everything that has happened.
“It is quite amazing that all of the people don’t know and yet they always have opinions about things they don’t know. I won’t explain to you what happened. It is not down to me to explain to you everything I do. It is impossible.
“If we do a transfer, we will announce it. We always inform you. As for the rest, you have to leave us to do our own things.
“We don’t want to hurt anybody, not Newcastle, not anybody. You can’t reproach us on one side for not buying and yet on the other side when we try to buy you reproach us as well. That is a bit contradictory.
“I would just like to reiterate to you that in the last 16 years we have been very successful with transfers — if you look at the players who play tomorrow (last night), they are top quality players, and you should never forget that.”
Wenger added: “It is not always to think what is outside is better than what you have. What is important as well is to rate what you have and our fans have to understand that as well.
“What is important is to go out and see a good football game. All that other stuff is good for the newspapers, but it is not real football.”
Wenger’s attempts to buy Liverpool’s Luis Suarez appear to have failed, while also provoking an angry response from the Merseysiders.
But the Frenchman insisted Arsenal are still in the market and it is understood they are still keen on Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney — also a Chelsea target — after making enquiries about whether he would be interested in a move to the Emirates.
They are set to make a new bid for France international midfielder Cabaye, while Mirror Sport understands they are now desperate to sign a goalkeeper, with Stoke’s Asmir Begovic back on the agenda.
Arsenal are holding talks with Valencia’s Vicente Guaita, they have also got Espanyol’s Kiko Casilla on their radar, but there is a determination to make one last push for Begovic.
If they cannot persuade Stoke to sell the 26-year-old, they will most likely go for Guaita, also 26.
Wenger is still promising “a lot” of transfer activity, although he also said that it was the matches rather than the transfer window that actually mattered in football.
Asked why Arsenal had left it so late to spend, Wenger said: “Less than two weeks is a long time and 75 per cent of things happen in the last 10 days. We are not there yet but a lot will happen in the next 10 days. When we think we have the right players, we do it. We were restricted for years and we competed with exceptional quality. This year we did not lose any players.
“I repeat many, many times that the transfer window should be over before the season starts because it is destabilising once the season has started — to be there talking about what is not really important in football. What is important in football is to go out and see a good game. All that other stuff is good for the newspapers but it is not real football.”
Wenger conceded that his squad was currently short but blamed that on injuries to Mikel Arteta and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
“We lost two players in three days for long periods,” he said. “I could get lessons on training sessions from everybody at the moment. I don’t worry because I believe in the players we have and the quality of their spirit and attitude will come out again.”
Wenger also pointed to the form of his squad at the end of last season and suggested that Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa was the result of freak circumstances.
“Since March we have lost one game. We have deeply ingrained in us that we know we have quality.” — Sky Sports.
Online Reporter