Arsene Wenger has hit back at critics of his youth-orientated policies with a robust defence of his record after a decade in charge of Arsenal.
”I’m responsible, I do the job and I do it like I want to do it,” Wenger tetchily insisted in response to a broadside from former Gunners boss George Graham.
Graham claimed this week that the current Arsenal squad, beaten by Bolton and Fulham on their last two league outings, lacked leadership.
But Wenger hit back by insisting that the critics were reacting to a temporary dip in form, while ignoring the more positive bigger picture.
”When you don’t win games, everybody has an opinion,” Wenger said on Friday.
”But if I look at the number of titles Arsenal has won in the last years, nobody has done better than I’ve done. A lot of people are talking. In 2004 we have not lost a game, in 2005, we have won the FA Cup, in 2006, we have been in the Champions League final and now we lose two games and suddenly the club is collapsing, it is unbelievable.”
Graham had highlighted Arsenal’s loss of Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Lauren, Patrick Vieira, Edu, Robert Pires and Dennis Bergkamp over the last two seasons and insisted: ”Don’t try to tell me they’re going to replace them with kids and get the same results.”
Wenger replied: ”I don’t deny that we lost world class players. But I believe that we have replaced them with world class players.
Players like Kolo [Toure] and [Cesc] Fabregas will become leaders.” – Sapa-AFP