LAUREN EXIT PROTECTS YOUNGSTERS
Arsene Wenger feels he had to allow veteran full-back Lauren to
leave in order to continue the development of youngsters Emmanuel
Eboue and Justin Hoyte.
The Cameroon international, who turned 30 on Friday, ended his
six-and-a-half-year stay with the Gunners to join Portsmouth
earlier this week. During the right-back's long recent injury
lay-off, the likes of Eboue, 23, and Hoyte, 22, have been handed a
regular taste of first-team action.
While accepting his decision was something of a "paradox" given he
often suggests the current squad lacks some experience, Wenger felt
it served to protect the future of the club.
The Arsenal manager said: "I lost a fantastic player. I would like
to pay tribute to him because he was amazing for the club. "Lauren
was not only a player with quality and experience, but also a
fantastic guy who was mentally very strong. "But he was out for
nine months. Eboue and Hoyte played. "Do I stop their development
and play Lauren? Or do I let him go somewhere else? I had to make
that kind of decision.
"If I played him I would have to lose either Hoyte or Eboue, which
I did not want to do." Wenger maintains his emerging squad have the
"ingredients and potential" to consistently challenge for top
honours. He said: "We have the ingredients and potential to become
the best team.
"At the moment we are not because we lost at places like Sheffield
United, Bolton and Manchester City - even though they are games we
could and should have won. But we are getting there."
