By Richard Clarke
Arsène Wenger is not prepared to be labelled as the villain of
English football.
Media reports on Friday morning suggested a PFA dossier had singled
out the Arsenal manager for his recruitment of youngsters. It
argued his policy of bringing through foreign talent was damaging
home-grown players.
At his press conference on Friday, Wenger countered by re-iterating
his belief that English football must look forward and beyond
national boundaries.
"When a guy sits in the stands at Arsenal Football Club and
sees a fantastic cross and a volley, he doesn't think
'Eboue, where does he come from?'" he said. "He
either enjoys it or he doesn't.
"Arsenal has done a lot for the popularity of the game all
over the world. I think that is the most important thing for me,
not to see where the players come from. What is important is that
people who pay £60 enjoy what they see.
"It is not my responsibility that the English national does
well. I am happy if they do well but it is not my first priority.
"However, at the same time, I'm in a job where I have to
accept sometimes to be blamed for things I am not necessarily
responsible for. From 1966 to 1996 England had no foreigners, and
you didn't win anything more, or anything less."
Wenger also argued that, to a certain extent, finances had directed
his transfer policy.
"At Arsenal Football Club I have to see how can I compete with Man United and Chelsea," said the Frenchman. "It has to be in a different way - with our resources - it is as simple as that.
"We had to try in our own way to be successful and this was to buy young players. But I must say we have young English players - as well as top players like Hoyte and Walcott - who are very good and maybe they will come out and play."
Copyright 2013 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source 7 Dec 2007
