WHAT A LOAD OF DOPES!
Wenger reveals drug fears as Gunners battle to avoid Euro KO
ARSENE WENGER claims the pressure on modern- d a y footballers to win at all costs has made it ‘natural’ for players to consider turning to performanceenhancing drugs. The Arsenal manager is still angry with UEFA after they failed to overturn the club’s 2-1 defeat against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League when one of their players tested positive for an unnamed substance.
Dinamo midfielder Arijan Ademi, 24, was banned for four years by UEFA after failing a doping control following their victory in September, but the result of the opening Champions League game was not reversed.
Arsenal, who have lost three times in the Champions League group phase, must beat Dinamo at the Emirates this evening to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage.
Wenger said: ‘There is temptation — you look at the psychological tests that have been done for the last 20 years and the temptation is natural. When a guy is second — I speak about track and field — there is only room for the hero, that means the winner. The second, nobody cares about. So when he sees he arrives second and the first cheats, he thinks, “What have I to do?”.
‘The temptation is of course there. Nobody cares about the second and sometimes the second is maybe the guy who doesn’t cheat.’
Wenger is demanding a change to the doping regulations and wants players to have biological blood passports to prove they are clean.
His call for better doping controls led to UEFA’s first random spot check at Arsenal’s training ground in 19 years when they turned up at London Colney on Friday.
The Arsenal manager added: ‘I said before that I want better controls and we got better controls straight away. I came out on it and as a result we had a doping control from UEFA on Friday. We had 10 people on Friday to control us.
‘I don’t remember whether we have been controlled before, but we have nothing against it. I called for more blood checks — that’s a major issue. I don’t want to speculate too much on the career of a player ( Ademi) because he has been punished. There are two things: our performance on the day and the fact they had a doped player.’
Wenger is still angry UEFA’s rule stipulates two or more players must test positive for a banned substance for the governing body to overturn the result.
The Arsenal manager remains suspicious about the practices of Dinamo Zagreb in the opening group games and yesterday he accused UEFA of accepting the use of drugs. He added: ‘UEFA applies the rule, but I don’ t agree with it.
You cannot say, “OK, they had a doped player but the result stands”, because that means you basically accept doping.’
But Dinamo Zagreb coach Zoran Mamic took exception to Wenger’s stance, saying: ‘Mr Wenger can think and talk about what he wants but there are other people who make decisions about that and that will be in the future.
‘I can suggest him to write the rules for UEFA. I think this situation is not the point of this press conference so we don’t need to talk about Ademi.’
Mamic revealed that Zagreb are appealing the ban on the player.
Asked for a solution to the problems of drugs in sport, Wenger kept his sense of humour and replied: ‘Take care of the red wine you drink. Drink French red wine.’
This evening Arsenal must find a way to beat Dinamo Zagreb, but the home team’s mounting injury problems means they will have to do it with a depleted squad.
Francis Coquelin is out for a minimum of two months after twisting knee ligaments during Saturday’s defeat against West Brom in the Barclays Premier League.
Aaron Ramsey is in the squad for this evening’s game after training with the team yesterday, but he is unlikely to start against the Croatian champions.
Wenger added: ‘Coquelin and Mikel Arteta are out. Arteta is short term and Coquelin is longer. How big the damage is we don’t know but we will know for certain soon.’
Zagreb coach Mamic admitted to shock at Arsenal’s struggles in the group so far, saying: ‘Of course it is quite a surprise. I was sure Arsenal would be on top of the group.
‘I’m sorry for Arsenal but they still have chances if they win — we will try and make the job difficult. I think Arsenal are too good and too experienced so they won’t feel any pressure. They play big matches every week.’