Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can challenge for the Premier
League title despite losing Thierry Henry.
Many are predicting that The Gunners will struggle to close the gap
on Manchester United and Chelsea this season and may even be in
danger of missing out on a UEFA Champions League place.
But Wenger thinks his new-look side has enough talent and ambition
to push for silverware.
He said: "We have a great inner strength. I have a strong feeling
that we will do very well this season, much better than people
think.
"We are aiming at Manchester United and Chelsea and I am not afraid
of that."
Wenger admits it will be difficult for anybody to replace Henry
directly, but has urged his young players to each take more
responsibility.
"He scored more goals for Arsenal than any other player in all of
the club's history, in 130 years, so we will miss that, but we have
a system of play and a strong belief and we will overcome that," he
said.
"We have a great belief and the desire for success is very strong
within the squad and we are very hungry and we have shown a great
togetherness in our pre-season games so we are very strongly
determined and I think we will make it very hard for
everybody.
"What is magical in football is that it is a team sport and
sometimes you find that personalities grow in the team and things
change."
Wenger also expects the Premier League to be more competitive this
season, after a number of clubs spent considerably over the
summer.
"Not all of them will be successful in doing it, but one certainly
will so there may be one or two additional contenders for the
title."