After being criticized over transfer dealings, Arsene Wenger has hit back strongly to Alisher Usmanov, questioning whether the club’s second largest shareholder knows the traditions of Arsenal.
Usmanov had earlier said that the Gunners need to strengthen in every position to challenge the elite in England and across Europe. He had also claimed that Wenger has failed to learn from his past mistakes and is restricted by his footballing principles .
Wenger who has spent 18 years with Arsenal believes that everyone has the right to give their opinion claimed that Usmanov needs to know the values of the club. The Frenchman said as quoted in The Telegraph:
“We have values at this club, the first one is when we go through a difficult period we show solidarity. The second one is when we have something to say, you say it face to face and not in the newspaper.”
“When you are from this club you are from this club. You are in or out, you cannot be both. It is not unhelpful. I don’t give it a big importance. What is important is how close we are inside the club and how much we can respond to people who question our quality.”
Wenger also believes that Arsenal will have a strong season and that he believes in his players. The Gunners however have failed to build from their FA Cup triumph last season and are currently eighth in the Premier League standings with 17 points from 12 games.
The North London side though are well placed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. However it is the lack of defensive discipline that has been hurting the Emirates side over the past few weeks.
Wenger also seemed confident when asked whether Arsenal are in crisis. He added:
“When you are so long in football, you don’t really understand what crisis means. I best get to the dictionary and look at it again. I believe in what I do and I believe especially in my players, the qualities and their spirit. I question myself every day and I hope you do that as well.”
Arsenal will face Borussia Dortmund next on Wednesday night at the Emirates in the Champions League Group D clash. The Gunners will miss Jack Wilshere for this tie but French defender Laurent Koscielny has returned to the squad.
See Also: Arsenal Injury Update on Wilshere & Koscielny
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
