Arsene Wenger says that his ambition for the coming season is to fight for the Premier League title and the Champions League, and he believes that Arsenal can do that despite the money available to other clubs to spend.
Speaking to Time Out magazine ahead of Arsenal’s trip to the far east, the boss was asked of his goals for the new season.
“The priority is again to fight for the championship and Champions League,” he said. “To finish the season as high as possible. What is as high as possible is to finish first. It is as simple as that.
“The competition is of a high level and many aspire to that so let’s continue to play the game the way we want to play it and I believe we can show that we can compete. Our ambitions are exactly the same in Europe.”
The manager again stressed the importance of the Premier League and Champions League ahead of the domestic cup competitions, saying, “There are two basic trophies for me that signify a team’s quality in England – the Premier League and the Champions League.
“All the rest, they are trophies of course and they are important but they do not really reflect the deep quality of a team. The championship does. We want to win it and we believe that we can with the resources available to us and with our approach.”
Although Arsenal cannot compete with the financial clout of Manchester City – still the most likely destination for wantaway skipper Robin van Persie – or Chelsea, Wenger refuses to accept that his team will be also-rans.
“Firstly, I must say that not being able to match the spending of the richest clubs does not mean that you can’t compete with them on the pitch. When I first came to England, this question did not exist. Every club was run within its resources. The Chelseas and the Man Citys are new problems.
“But with this new financial environment, what has not changed at all is our policy that we will be as ambitious as ever and spend the money that we have available, if possible in an intelligent and wise way. We have always spent money because we are ambitious for top-class players and if you look at the history of our last 15 years, we have always had top-class players.
“It does not mean you can’t win the title if you can’t compete financially.”
And having already signed Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, Wenger was keen to stress the mistakes of last summer would not be repeated and hinted further signings would be forthcoming.
” I won’t say any more than that at the moment but we are always looking to add quality to our squad. Last year was terrible for us to be completely honest, because we finished on August 31 at 11.55pm and we certainly do not want to repeat that.”
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Read the full interview in Time Out
Watch Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis look on as Brazil’s Olympic squad train at London Colney.
Turtles make me smile.
Let’s see how many thumbs up? for this turtle joke.
A suicide bomber: Everyone has 1
minute to get out of the pet store! Turtle:
You bastard.
I….am….too….slow….to….give…this….a….thumbs….up. Either that or unwilling. Or both.
1) Turtles can’t talk.
2) Worst suicide bomber ever.
Thumb: Under consideration.
The reisbearcum is a DICK!!!.
Amazing, just amazing….ask human beings for a thumb up and they’l find even more reason fora thumb down. Some will even go as far as analysing the goddamn joke!!!. Do me a favour!!!.
In arsene We trust!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqYHPdJb4wU&list=FL_n23suCG68nhdJawhVPY9A&index=2&feature=plpp_video
Glad to see he learned from last summer…but I am so tired of talky talky talky. I think we can all agree that Wenger is a phenomenal PR speaker and when he talks about our ambition it amounts to diddily squat. With that said, it does not mean I don’t trust him. I love the man and do believe him to be the man to take Arsenal back to success…I am merely saying I am tired of just hearing how we wont sell players or how we want to win the league. I am just ready for Saturdays to be… Read more »
Aye, the Euro’s were able to tide me over and pre-season gets into full swing next week but I’m tired of all the methadone crap and silly bullshit debate, I want proper football now.
Meh.
We all can talk wenger, we all can TALK.
I’m doing it right now, it’s about how you back your shit up.
#Gunner, peace.
‘back your shit up’
eeeew
DOUCHE
Gary, le grove village called for you. Seems they’re missing an idiot.
Yea go back to Le Grove.
Tree huggers only .
Wengers time is now. Fuck up and I don’t think the fans will take it anymore. He’s a great manager whom I adore and I would like him to stay for as long as he wants but hey, I can’t speak for everyone.(wenger out brigade). Do or die.
P/s: fuck off baadab, you should just evacuate to Daadab and get shot. Thankyou.
A “no hashtags” rule must certainly be somewhere within the posting policy. Or perhaps only to censor the Sp#rs.
Well he has “back his shit up” by winning things. what have you win?
He have win not much in last 7 year. He win nothing fact in.
I liked it, Big Dave.
Are you Chinese Big Dave?
Liked for quality bants from the Cookie Monster. Even though you support the Chavs, you’re alright.
Your post is just ……wait hahaha….
Wait .hahaha. Just go man, just go.
“JUSTNEEDSTOGOGUY”
seems he is keen. And to be fair to him he’s put his money where his mouth is by signing Poldi and Giroud. I do sincerely hope Walcott and RvP do not drag out. I’m resigned to accepting any outcome on the condition that it is done soon so we can get a move on with our lives. That is all i ask.
Yep, dragging out would be a big drag. Unfortunately to judge from this Twitter announcement from Van Persie it seems that, wherever he’s expecting to go, it’s not going to happen very promptly:
Persie_official
I look forward to meeting you all for a training session soon!
I can’t be bothered to guess at the purpose of this tweet.
The training session is part of a contest he did in conjunction with cartoon network. Nothing to do his future at Arsenal (or not at Arsenal as it were)
He changed his profile pic to a Holland shirt, not sure if you can read much into that , but must have done it for a reason?
“To finish the season as high as possible. What is as high as possible is to finish first. It is as simple as that.”
LOL this is sooo wenger.
If Arsene thinks with this squad we can win the league and CL, the man is truly beyond help
What he actually said was:
“To finish the season as high as possible. What is as high as possible is thinking that you have the ability to fly whilst your whole body feels like one singular gelatinous blob, not being able to feel any pain and finding everything amazing when, in fact, its banal, and actually laughing at the awful American comedy you would normally only sneer at.”
“..soon so we can get a move on with our lives”
o.O
Can you clarify the position on Vela yet? I ask because Sociedad have apparently put out a statement saying we’ve sold him for 3m (euros, I assume) and we have buy-back option. There’s no mention at all of the 50 percent sell-on clause you were talking about a couple of days ago. Let’s hope this wrong because 3m is not a lot of money and I can’t imagine him either wanting to come back or us wanting to have him. Why would we be letting him go if that were the case?
There is a sell-on clause as well as a buy back clause (which strikes me as odd because he really doesn’t want to play in England)
would the buy back clause enable us to prevent citeh or chelsea buying him if he suddenly scored 25 goals in la liga and became a target for them?
if so it would make a lot of sense
Maybe … I guess. Just don’t know why we would buy him back, unless Wenger really feels there’s a dynamite player waiting to get out. Of course he could always refuse to come to us even if we did bid.
Buy him back and then sell him ourselves, to the right kind of people. It’s a nice idea.
Another possible explanation is that by the time the buy-back clause comes into effect, Wenger may have retired – we don’t know that he’ll want to sign a further two-year contract. Vela said he disliked the training with us, which explains why he didn’t shine on a day-to-day basis enough to impress Wenger, but with a different manager, who knows? Perhaps just as well to keep the options open?
It seems like this has become pretty standard for The Arse. I recall something like this being reported about Fabregas’ contract.
Hell, if Vela lights it up in La Liga and $hitty come knocking with their checkbook, I would be as surprised as everyone else if Carlos doesn’t fancy all that Northern weather after all.
Which is to say, we can buy him and sell him again 🙂
if we buy him back does that mean we get half the money? 😉
@Merlin – that’s what I was thinking 🙂
3m is just about what he’s worth – especially considering that this is a club he genuinely wants to go to. Bellyaching that “oh, we should have got 5/6m for him” as if that really makes any difference to Arsenal’s long term situation is, like… eeehhh…
And I’m not sure there is a club so tactless they would include details of a sell on clause when announcing a player THEY’VE JUST BOUGHT.
Whatever said and done, this man is a legend. I love what he’s done for the club, and I wish him all the best for the new season. Glad he’s learnt from last year’s transfer dealings.
Agreed. And a little sick of people saying “Oh yeah Wenger, great words, great pr, etc etc”. It’s true, they are good words and good pr, but what do you expect the man to say! I’d be more worried if he came out and said “I’ll be straight with you guys, I’m not sure if we’ll stay up this season”! 😉
Let’s just be hopeful of kicking some ass next season 😀
Sick of the off-season. Bring me Sunderland now. COYG!!!
Too right
Sunderland, opening game
Nick Bendtner – getting cheered to the rafter by both sets of fans!
then niklas wakes up
his trousers round his ankles
looks like his drink was drugged again
OT, Mr. Blogs, but I’ve got to give you kudos for your blog observation, that other than cockroaches, agents will be the only other species to survive nuclear holocaust. No matter what else happens on the footballing front today, remembering that will give me a smile.
Thanks
Okay, who thumbed down a ‘thanks’?
Wenger is dead!
Long Live Wenger!
All I hope is that they can get this sorted before the season starts. It is awful to begin a season without the squad settled.
Wenger: “The ambition is the title and the Champions League.”
He forgot to say: “And make as much money as possible for Mr Kroenke.”
that’s stupid…. he makes it for himself because he’s evil MUHAHAHAHAHAH!!
I am sure he’s the one who hacked into Van Persie’s website and wrote that ‘update’
Indeed ! And keep Hill-Wood in booze. And keep circulating little stories of the ‘Cry Wolf’ variety about Real Madrid and Brazil’s Coaching position, if the results start to turn the heat up under him. What else ? Oh yes Diaby’ s return to fitness – for all of 10 minutes. and The Uniform Business Model that is so dear to all our hearts and on the back of every replica shirt. In fairness what he actually says is pretty much unimpeachable. The trouble is, we hear it every year. He talks the talk – but fails to walk the… Read more »
I’d be very interested to know who was behind the rumour that Brazil had approached Wenger to manage their national team – some journalist here? someone at Arsenal? with or without the knowledge of Wenger himself? It’s inconceivable that the story could have originated in Brazil. Brazil have never had a foreign manager and Wenger has never shown the slightest desire to manage a national side; add to that, the weird timing of it: why would Brazil while preparing for the Olympics (which they take fairly seriously) undermine their current manager by suggesting that they were hoping to appoint Wenger… Read more »
Two more signings in midfield..1 attacking & 1 holding. and the champoinship is ours!
Oh! and incase Robin goes.. another stiker will be needed and we are good to go..
A goalie wouldn’t be a bad idea either!
I know arsene has to say it as our manager but unless we make a couple of quality signings then to me it’s up there with “cesc and nasri are staying” and “we want to keep van persie at any cost”.
Buy the players we so clearly need then maybe people will take him seriously again. Until then if it wasn’t so fucking sad it would laughable.
You mean, bring in more powerful, clinical strikers up front after the main struggle last season being our inability to finish chances and our general lack of physicality? Or start an influx of experience over 2 years after it becomes apparent that our current Youth weren’t quite cutting it?
I doubt it’ll happen.
And Hleb and Flamini…
It’s getting a bit like ‘I didn’t see it’, only more embarrassing and counter-productive. With ‘I didn’t see it’ you can at least give him the benefit of the doubt – maybe sometimes he didn’t – but this announcement every summer regular as clockwork that players are staying, even when they’ve already left for a medical – I really don’t get it. Seems like the worst PR calculated to make the fans even angrier because they feel they’re being treated like morons and the club is taking the piss.
Whenever Wenger says ‘he didn’t see it’ he invariably DID but doesn’t want to comment on it, as he believes in dealing with things away from the rapacious glint in the reporters eyes unlike some other managers who have been recently employed in North London…
I remember reading an interview where he clearly says he only goes on repeating that as he doesn’t want to comment on an incident without having the player’s story of what happened, as sometimes what you see ain’t the full story, and he doesn’t want to expose his players like that. I for one am O.K with it 🙂
What is he meant to say well we hope to finish 4 th cause we cant compete with chelsea or citys financial power?? give the guy a break! im sure if he had 35 million to spend on hazard or whoever he would have, i do think if rvp stays and wilshere back we will challenge for title!
“The priority is _AGAIN_ to fight for the championship and Champions League”
Again is the key word here.
Sad.
Why?
because he said the the same every year, so don’t start thinking this year will be different.
That said, I always have hope and once or twice the Arsenal looked close, then RVP got injured or Bendtner missed a barn door or Eduardo broke a leg or Fab broke one too or Ramsey or Wilshere…
wenger should keep quiet and sort out problems instead of making fake and useless claims which he cant fulfil . by the way how can gazidis go on holiday when two key players need to be resigned shame on arsenal. we will keep on grooming players for other teams.
It’s already been reported that he didn’t go on holiday. Well done for keeping up with the Arsenal news….
Piers? Is that you?
Astute as always, Arsene Wenger. I like how he discloses next to nothing about his intentions in the transfer market. Even if we do need to reinforce our squad (and we do!) he doesn’t need to shout out loud that we are buying.
Why the fuck do people always spout on about spending 35 million on carol or hazard etc to justify wengers lack of buying the players this squad needs. Yeah hazard may have been nice to have so would fucking messi but we won’t get either. But that’s not to say we don’t need a few midfield player to strengthen the squad. Don’t think anyone is suggesting spending city type money that we don’t have. But we do have money and we do need players. The amount of money we spend is irrelevant. The need is the same. It’s just a… Read more »
I dont know but just guessing if Wenger wants someone he is ready to spend the money on him. but if the player himself declares he is not ready yet for a move like gotze , so he see’s him as a future signing and keeps the spot vacant.
Yes its a big risk and you might go a season without a trophy but you will have the worlds best player with you next season. is it worth it. Nope.
Its like you wait for a client he promises stuff and then never shows up.
And this is the core of the problem at our club. We have a manager who just can’t do it anymore. Wenger is still an excellent coach – and still has a great eye for young talent – but he is now hopeless at building and developing squads. His crazy wage structure means that we can’t sign or retain top talent. And he is far too stubborn to change. Sadly, we don’t have a David Dein figure at the club who will take charge and make the decisions that Wenger is incapable of. And that’s why we are going nowhere… Read more »
Wenger: only pay what I thought that player’s worth.
Mancini: Will get any cunt at any cost.
Uh?
I didn’t hear anything about Koscielny or Vermaelen before we bought them. I remember Arsenal supporters baying for quality defenders. I don’t see anyone complaining we didn’t go out and buy the biggest name out there?
Perspective, people. Atleast judge the man AFTER his transfers have settled in!
nice interview. Though you could’ve mentioned this, to shut up the nay-sayers who think all he cares about is coming in 4th and making money for the owners (ha!):
“Last season was a tough one for the Gunners but, in the end, you finished in third. Were you ultimately satisfied with that position?”
W: “When you are manager of Arsenal Football Club, you begin each season with the ambition to win trophies – and we believed that we were capable of doing that. We didn’t achieve that, so I cannot say it was a spectacular season.”
Voldermort i highly agree with you. If we can get the leading scorers of two top leagues for a combined fee of just about 20m. .why should we go for 1 player at the cost of 35m.
If performances were directly tagged to value then Carrol, Torres etc would be the best in europe today..they are not!
[…] 来源：[Arseblog News] […]
i think ba at 7 million is a steal im sure there will be plenty of bids in for him before the clause in his contract runs out. poldi, giroud and ba would be alot stronger than rvp,chamack and park!
Blah blah blah!
Actions speak louder than words. We need to prove we’re still title challengers with a good summer and an even better start to the season. I don’t care which ungrateful wretch leaves, I don’t care if we get some obscure little player from Benfica (apparently on the cards), as long as they turn out good and we start the season well, I DON’T CARE. Just enough of all this “well, we may do this, we may do that” shite.
Plplplpl. Let the season start already.
I look forward to our transfer dealings being completed on August 31 at 11.54pm.
Lesson learned.
And here I was thinking Arsene would say well, we just want to finish in the top half of the league and make it out of the group stages of the Champions League. Who would’ve thought the man wants to win a trophy! /sarcasm
Between these “ambitious” statements and his “Giroud and Podolski” will play in Asia comments it’s officially “Really? No Shit!” Thursday
“the Chelseas and the Man Citys are new problems..” Fuck Yeah!
In Arsene, I trust. In his talk, I don’t. Action speaks louder. Get it done!
Don’t worry mate, I have it on good authority that Giroud and Podolski were signed purely as accomplices for Wenger’s heist on City’s trophy room. Well you wanted action!!
When a genius talks, you shut up and listen.
Who needs spurs trollers here when we have a whole bunch of Gunners with their heads in their arses on this blog. Please grace Le Grove with the presence of your shitty heads… The bloke has signed 2 exciting strikers before any action has even occurred and all I hear is whinging, whinging, whinging about who to sign and what not…If Walcott is sold, all you trash will bemoan that he was so exciting and was not kept with us. If he signs a new contract, you will say how we keep overpaying rubbish talent with shit loads of money.… Read more »
I’d agree with you in part, but don’t forget that we had last season’s extremely shitty times, and many Gooners are worried that it’s going to be the same this summer. Without an established striker (who has experience in the EPL), a poor summer window and bad start to the season will effectively write off any hopes we have of any of these ambitions. It’s not bad to be worried. Any fan who blindly follows any team even though everything is going to shit is no better than a fan who sits around whinging all day. Still. Some middle ground… Read more »
“It does not mean you can’t win the title if you can’t compete financially.” The post from the excellent ‘7amkickoff.com’ the other day specifically said the complete opposite of this. For those that didn’t read it, it basically said that there is a strong link between the team that wins the league and money spent on wages+transfers. Our ability to keep pace witht he top teams died (for a while) when we moved to the emirates, and now we can’t compete. Mainly due to our commercial deals being very low compared to our competitors. Unfortunately i don’t see Arsenal winning… Read more »
We’re going to win something this year. I don’t care even if its the Carling somethings got to give this year. Arsene will probably sign one more player then we’ll be sorted.