Arsene Wenger is ready to placate those fans who are
demanding an injection of experience at Arsenal this summer but
while he is targeting two older players, a new striker is not on
the agenda.
The Gunners have once again finished the season without
silverware and critics have pointed to a surfeit of young players
as a reason for Wenger’s failure to land a trophy or challenge for
the title.
The Frenchman’s policy of purchasing and developing young
players is well established but with a deep reserve of promising
players now at his disposal, Wenger is ready to go down the Andrei
Arshavin route again in the summer.
But while speculation continues to surround the future of
Emmanuel Adebayor, the Gunners boss is not developing a contingency
plan by targeting a new attacker.
“I’m not chasing any player at the moment,” said Wenger. “I
believe my priority is to stay with the squad we have.
“We will try of course to bring in one or two players to
strengthen the squad but we have plenty of strikers.
“And if we buy, it certainly won't be players who lack
experience. We have enough of those.”
Meanwhile, Wenger has claimed that photos depicting Nicklas
Bendtner emerging from a nightclub with his trousers down were a
‘setup’.
The Denmark international has been fined by the club after he
indulged in a late night out following the club’s Champions League
exit at the hands of Manchester United on Tuesday.
“I was angry,” Wenger added. “But he has been set up.
“People make the story that he was drunk. He was not drunk. He
did not put his trousers down, somebody did it for him and somebody
was posted there with a camera.
“I fined him not for that. I fined him because he should not
have gone out.
“But he's 20 years old and, in fairness, what I like with
Bendtner is that he is honest enough and fair enough and
intelligent enough to realise he made a mistake.”
