Arsenal don't need more midfielders, says Wenger

The Gunners have been criticised by pundits and some fans for not buying another holding midfielder to support Francis Coquelin, who broke into the first team last season after being recalled from a loan spell with second tier side Charlton Athletic.

Arsenal don't need more midfielders, says Wenger

(Reuters)





The only competition for Coquelin is captain Mikel Arteta, 33, who has just returned from a calf injury after six months out, and an aging Mathieu Flamini, who has only one year left on his contract.

"Everybody has their opinion and everybody is entitled to have an opinion. I could prove to you that it's not necessarily right," Wenger was quoted as saying by the club's website (www.arsenal.com) when asked about the need for more 'powerful' midfielders by reporters.

"When you don't win, you're wrong and people always find reasons why. Are they the good reasons?

"I think I have enough experience and intelligence to know when it's right and when it's wrong," added the club's longest-serving manager.

Arsenal are still waiting for their first home win of the season after being held by Liverpool in Monday's entertaining goalless draw following the opening day shock 2-0 defeat by West Ham United.

The hosts were unlucky not to take an early lead when Aaron Ramsey's effort was ruled out for offside in the eighth minute, although Liverpool were equally unfortunate not be out of sight by halftime.

New signing Petr Cech saved a Christian Benteke strike from point-blank range, while Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho also struck the woodwork twice.

Wenger was disappointed that Ramsey's goal was disallowed.

"It was a regular goal. It was a period of the game where we maybe had the most problems defensively but it's a regular goal," the 65-year-old said.

"I can't see why it was cancelled. It's clear and on that front you cannot say that Liverpool can complain," the Frenchman added.

Wenger also conceded that his club have not been up top scratch this season after collecting just four points from their first three Premier League fixtures.

"We have started very average I must concede sharpness is missing a little bit in some players," the former Monaco manager said.

"Our game is still not fluent enough in the final third."





(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru)


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Source: Reuters


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