Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PREMIER LEAGUE BETTER THAN THE INVINCIBLES
Wenger insists he has more top-notch attacking players at Arsenal than he’s ever had before
ARSENE WENGER says Arsenal now have the best attacking options in all his years at the club.
Wenger, who became Gunners boss in 1996, hailed his goalscorers after they put another five past Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday.
Hat-trick hero Theo Walcott and two-goal Danny Welbeck did the damage at St Mary’s.
Lucas Perez and Alex Oxladechamberlain also started, while Alexis Sanchez and Alex Iwobi were only called on from the bench.
Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil weren’t needed at all.
Wenger’s claim about his current crop might be considered a big one by some, given his best side – the 2004 Invincibles – were spearheaded by two of the club’s all-time greats: Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp.
Behind them, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sylvain Wiltord, Kanu and Jose Reyes were among the players providing further firepower.
But, ahead of the league clash with Watford, Wenger said: “Certainly, numbers wise and quality wise, together this is the best attacking unit. We’ve never had so many players who could perform and score goals – never. “Bergkamp, Henry (right) and Van Persie came behind them. Wiltord, Pires, it was not bad.
“They had the quality but we have a larger number now.
“How I do manage them? That is a good question and one I don’t know how to answer for sure.
“Mainly, it is about making the decision for the next game that you think is the right one.
“Sometimes you consider the problem you face, sometimes you consider the fitness of the players. The fact that, for example, they have played only three days before. Have they recovered or not?
“You just try to be honest in your decisions and keep everybody on board.”
And Wenger insisted Sanchez, who has thrown strops when he has been subbed, is not the only forward who gets upset when he is left out. “They all get annoyed,” he said. “They have a different way to show it. The other nine show the way they are unhappy a little bit differently but they are.” Wenger’s class of 2004 turned all their goals into a trophy by winning the title that year.
But, despite talking up his attacking strength in depth, Wenger fears his current crop face a tough task to do the same this year due to the increased competition at the top of the table. He added: “Every year it is an achievement to get in the top four, but it is not good enough. I understand that.
“If you are there, every year people say, ‘Why don’t you do more?’, and I agree with that. “We want to win the title but look at the quality of competition. “It is hard to be in there and even harder to win the Premier League.”