Arsene Wenger has accelerated his
war of words with France coach Raymond Domenech, with the Arsenal
boss reacting furiously to recent criticism from his
compatriot.
The two Frenchman have been at loggerheads over the fitness
problems suffered by Gunners captain Thierry Henry since the World
Cup, as Wenger blames Les Bleus for over-using his star forward who
is now out for the remainder of the season.
Domenech recently declared that 'Wenger is tiring me' in response
to continued criticism from North London, and has voiced his
surprise about the attacks from the Gunners boss and Lyon coach
Gerard Houllier.
Now Wenger has again trained his sights on the France boss,
accusing Domenech of acting stupidly in antagonising the managers
and the clubs who supply him with his players.
"They treat us like fools, they use demagogic short-cuts, I hope
you will publish it," said Wenger in Sport.
"It is necessary to respect the clubs and not provoke them because
it can't go on like this.
"His reaction is stupid, not clever and below the belt.
"There will be no sticking things back together, I guarantee you.
Firstly you have to respect people.
"Everybody has the right to express different ideas, but my club
won't accept this treatment for a long time."
Domenech had hoped to have drawn a line under the row with Wenger
in order to concentrate on France's Euro 2008 qualifier with
Lithuania.
However, the Arsenal boss has dug his heels in and questioned why
nobody in France is scrutinising the national boss's actions.
"I have managed after a World Cup five times," stated Wenger.
"Look at the number of French internationals who are unavailable
today. Do you think that they have been well managed.
"Nobody asks these questions in France, why?
"They have badly managed the situation after the World Cup, and I'm
not even speaking about the older players (Zinedine Zidane, Claude
Makelele and Lilian Thuram) who they discarded before recalling
them."