Read extra quotes from Arsène Wenger's press conference ahead of the Tottenham game. For more headlines, visit our Digest page.
on if Ronaldo is best in the world…
He is, with Messi, the best player in the world in the recent years. He has shown that he can score 50 goals per season in the last six or seven years, so you have to say yes, he is with Messi. Messi maybe has a little advantage on assists but overall, the two have been fantastic players.
on if he would go for Messi…
I would go for nobody because it’s not my problem at the moment. I have a much bigger problem - to prepare my team for Sunday. It’s a debate that is always very difficult. First of all, I’m against that debate because I think we are first a team sport.
As a manager I always feel responsible to encourage the collective effort rather than singling people out. I think the modern world is too much about individuals and we as managers are more worried about the collective. I’m not too much of a fan. I’m against the Ballon d’Or, I’m against all these things. I’ve seen careers destroyed because the players are too much obsessed to get individual rewards.
on which careers have been damaged…
I can tell you that maybe another day. I feel sometimes it encourages selfishness and people inside the game to go too much for their own sake when some players are in a better position. Even the agents sometimes motivate the players to get individual rewards because they are more valuable on the market after. That’s why I’m against it. I’m not a big fan of it.
on Chris Coleman’s Aaron Ramsey comments…
I didn’t blame anybody. I just said that it would make common sense to not use Bale or Ramsey once they were qualified and bring them on 10 minutes to go. It would have helped the clubs and it is just an opinion. I don’t believe there was anything spectacular or a desire to blame anybody.
on what he said…
I didn’t see it, so I cannot tell you too much more about that. I said as well in that press conference that I cannot call all the managers, I believe I did not blame him especially. I think we analyse the reasons why our players get injured and you always think that in a period like that, if a player can have one game less it is not bad.
on if Christmas is a yardstick of a team…
Christmas, yes. You start to see better, stronger. I believe we have a chance but it’s now down to consistency and to turn up in every single game with top-level focus.
on whether Spurs are bridging the gap…
On a financial level, we always had level power because when we had 37,000, 38,000 seater we were level. After we moved into the new stadium we had less financial resources than them because we had to pay our debts back. That was always the case. Now, maybe in the last 2 or 3 years we are in a stronger financial situation but that will not last because they build a new stadium as well.
on Spurs and West Ham moving into new stadiums…
It is the biggest challenge we face. It will be purely down to the technical quality of work.
on the drama when Arsenal don’t win…
Look, honestly it is difficult sometimes to live with it but as well for me it just shows you how much the club means to people and how high the level of expectation is from the outside world. You want that. I believe psychologically it is a bit more difficult but also more interesting.
on what makes him feel success likely...
What makes we feel that is we are on a trend since the January 1, 2015 that is consistent in our results.
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