It would make headline news if Arsène Wenger said his team were NOT
good enough to fight for the Premiership crown this season.
However, after a couple of years finishing fourth in the league,
you can hardly blame journalists for asking the Arsenal manager
that very question after their pre-season campaign began with a win
over Barnet on Saturday even if they knew the response.
That is the aim of the season, he said. We are Arsenal. The
environment looks very strong but when you go with a young team you
feel you can improve every year.
The players want to prove they have the quality. I believe they do
have the quality I just want them to express their talent with
belief.
The departure of Thierry Henry leaves extra responsibility on the
remaining strikers but Wenger is clear on the jobs Robin van
Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor and Eduardo must fulfil.
They have to create efficiency in our attacking game and replace
the 25 goals per season that Thierry gave us every season, he
said.
We lost a world-class player who did extremely well for us. Nobody
will reach his numbers in the history of the Club. He played eight
great years for the club and he was 30 so maybe he did not have the
patience anymore to let the young team develop. You can understand
that. I feel it was a tough decision for Thierry. The injury and
not playing for a period of time had a big influence on his
mind.
But when you lose a world-class player you can only hope to get
yourself on a level where you can complete again. It means that
some other players have to take more responsibility.
