Arsene Wenger maintains there is no reason for
Arsenal to be panicked into buying new players - and has told his
squad to focus on their own performance rather than worry about who
may be joining the club in the summer.
Following the midweek Champions League exit to holders
Manchester United, the Gunners now have little other than pride
left to play for ahead of the summer. As Arsenal face up to another
trophyless campaign - their last being the FA Cup in 2005 - there
have been calls for Wenger to invest in some fresh talent to
complement the potential of his youngsters or face being left
behind.
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia accepts that maybe "now is the time"
for experience to be added, while Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor
feels both the team and himself have "gone backwards" this
season.
However, Wenger - who was boosted on Friday by the news England
forward Theo Walcott has signed a new long-term deal - remains
committed to his own philosophy of developing a side capable of
beating the best once again.
"I believe that you have to take a distance with the statements
of the players. They are not managers or coaches," Wenger said.
"They are responsible for their own performance on the pitch and
not for general assessment of the team.
"You go to Chelsea, to Manchester United and you ask them if
they feel they need to sign players, you will get everywhere a
positive response. Yet if you ask the players in what position, you
will never get their position.
"Every player wants to play with big names because it is
reassuring." However, Wenger insisted: "If you look at our team on
Tuesday night, our oldest player in midfield was 22. They are in
the best four in Europe, so why should we panic?
"I believe we have to take the critics on the chin, but at the
end of the day, it is down to how strongly we believe in ourselves
and how good I think the team is. "We live in a world where
everyone can have opinions, but it is people in a position of
responsibility who make decisions.
"There is a big difference, because people who make decisions
have responsibilities for the longer-term of the club, for the
survival of the club and for the financial resources of the
club."
Wenger maintains his young side are not that far from
attaining the consistency of United, who killed off the second leg
of their semi-final with two early goals at Emirates Stadium on
Tuesday night.
"I do not deny United deserved to go through over the two legs,
but we did not have an opportunity to show our good we are," he
said. "Afterwards people always take definite conclusions, but I
believe that the distance between the two teams is not as big as
people make it today."
Like Arsenal, Chelsea crashed out of Europe in midweek, losing
to a stoppage-time away goal to Barcelona in controversial
circumstances at Stamford Bridge. Wenger believes the events of
earlier this week will make Sunday's Barclays Premier League clash
between the two sides at Emirates Stadium all the more
intriguing.
"I believe Chelsea have the right to be more disappointed than
us because they were qualified and you could not see how Barcelona
could come back," said Wenger, his side six points behind the Blues
with three games left.
"The game on Sunday will be down to the team who deals best with
the disappointment, who wants it more and who has more strength of
character."
Wenger added: "I know we live in a world where when you lose a
game, everybody gets hammered - but to get where we were you need
some quality.
"For me it is not hard to try to re-motivate the players, but
what is hard is to get the players' belief, desire and a bit of joy
back in the squad. "However, this team have no attitude problem,
they always train focused and well."