Wenger eyeing silverware

[Dunny]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted his youthful side can get their hands on silverware this season.

The Gunners have not won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but Wenger, who turned 60 on Thursday, has confidence in the players at the club after a good start to the campaign.

Arsenal currently lie in fourth place in the Premier League, and are undefeated in the UEFA Champions League group stage, which has convinced Wenger that the trophy drought will be over come May next year.

"I know that we haven't won a trophy for four years, but we have been very close and I believe that this year the team will do it," he said at Arsenal's AGM.

"When I say that, it is not to please you (Arsenal shareholders), it is because I am really convinced of it.

"This season we are ready to go for it in the Premier League, the Champions
League and of course both the cups as well.

"We are in October and we know it will be very tight - it will come down to how resilient, consistent, intelligent and united we are until the end.

"There will be periods when it will be difficult, but we have to show our strengths that has always made this club special."

Praise

Wenger has won many plaudits for the style of football he has instilled at Emirates Stadium, and he has opted to nurture young talent rather than splash the cash on big-name signings.

"It's not just about pumping money into the team," he added. "There is a magic in our sport and our club.

"We have developed the team in the last four of five years with a tremendous amount of training to develop them how we want.

"I believe a team is easier to develop if they are grown up inside the club, from 16 and even younger because they learn to love the club and what it represents.

"I believe it is essential that we maintain our values in the club.
"It is important that we are proud of the Arsenal way, the way we play the game and develop players.

"You cannot be a big club and have a small culture. You have to have a desire to see quality in what to do

[Karl]

Wenger 'sees' silverware

Yuh tink a im waan?

Mek Lazie tell yuh ow mi raise di bar tuh a tell im seh BoyU an Check-si nah win di EPL...but di GUNNERS shall!

[OJ]

my team but i dont see it.. if it happens i will be over the moon but we still on the journey..

[Warlord]

Yuh tink a im waan?

Mek Lazie tell yuh ow mi raise di bar tuh a tell im seh BoyU an Check-si nah win di EPL...but di GUNNERS shall!

Both Arsenal and Liverpool wont win the premier league this season. Even I can admit that as an Arsenal fan. Im sure Benitez is also eyeing silverware but that doesnt mean he will get it.

[Karl]

my team but i dont see it.. if it happens i will be over the moon but we still on the journey..

We'll see!
Lazie says that every season I claim GUNNERS time. He is almost right.
This season I make no apologies - GUNNERS time, now!
We have young legs, tremendous technical ability and 2 seasons experience...GUNNERS time, now!

[Lazie]

We'll see!
Lazie says that every season I claim GUNNERS time. He is almost right.
This season I make no apologies - GUNNERS time, now!

... and the beat goes on.

[Dunny]

Both Arsenal and Liverpool wont win the premier league this season. Even I can admit that as an Arsenal fan. Im sure Benitez is also eyeing silverware but that doesnt mean he will get it.

hee!hee!hee!hee! weh dem a go do when Cesc lift the big trophy over him head!!!

[Twan]

We'll see!
Lazie says that every season I claim GUNNERS time. He is almost right.
This season I make no apologies - GUNNERS time, now!
We have young legs, tremendous technical ability and 2 seasons experience...GUNNERS time, now!

TRUE and I HOPE it will happen,,,but......

we have not corrected the problems of giving up too many goals...just like last season. AW said it himself, we were as good as manu offensively but we conceded too many..and once again we have a problem in giving up too many soft goals !! we have scored 27 while conceeding 11 in 8 games. Chelsea has only conceded 8 while palying 9 games, Manu 9 in 9 games...

[Dunny]

ARSENE WENGER is so clever he could have been the president of France.

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That is the view of Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, who once witnessed Wenger stun a member of the House of Lords with his analysis of why a united Europe will never work.


Happily for Hill-Wood and Gunners fans, Wenger – who turned 60 yesterday – opted for a career in football rather than politics.


Hill-Wood said: “Football is his life. I think he could have been president of France, or chief executive of Air France or Shell, or whatever.



“Thankfully, he chose football and Arsenal. God forbid the day he leaves. I will be in a box or something by then, or doddering around on my Zimmer frame!”


During his record 13-plus years with the north Londoners, Wenger has continued to impress with not just the quality of the football he serves up but also the depth of his intellect.


Hill-Wood has been left amazed by Wenger’s knowledge on numerous occasions, with the most notable moment around three years ago.


The Gunners chairman said: “We were at Tottenham and one of my guests was my friend (Lord) Clive Hollick.


“He is a very keen Arsenal fan and a season-ticket holder. He was there and Arsene came for a cup of coffee before the game. Clive said he wanted to talk to Arsene about the EU and the harmonisation of everything in Europe. Arsene then gave a five-minute lecture on how bloody stupid the whole thing was. He explained how he came from Alsace-Lorraine and his grandfather fought for the Germans on the Russian front.


“But he said he was now French, because the French took over from the Russians after the war. Living on one side of the river made you German and on Arsene’s side you were French – and the two didn’t like each other.


“Hollick, who was very prominent in the Labour Party, said he found what Arsene said extremely interesting, admitting he needed to do a little bit more homework before talking to him again!


“Arsene’s summing up of the European problem was so succinct. And when (French President) Nicolas Sarkosy and Gordon Brown came to their summit at the Emirates last year, I was told both of them were much more interested in talking to Arsene than talking to each other.” Wenger’s high-flying Gunners face West Ham tomorrow at Upton Park and Hill-Wood, 73, revealed not only will the Frenchman know all about Gianfranco Zola’s team, he has an amazing in-depth knowledge about players from all over the world.



Hill-Wood added: “(Arsenal managing director) Ken Friar mentioned the other day some player to Arsene who nobody had ever heard of.


“Arsene said: ‘Yes, he is interesting. He is 24-and-a-half-years-old, his mum is very dominating and his dad is leaving them’.


“Ken said: ‘How the bloody hell do you know all that?’. Arsene replied: ‘I just do’.” Unassuming Wenger became the club’s longest-serving manager in the build-up to the 6-2 defeat of Blackburn earlier this month.


There was no fanfare, with Hill-Wood adding: “We gave him a silver replica of the Emirates.


“He hates being given anything but I think he was quite touched.


“I asked him if he would accept it on the pitch before the Blackburn game but he said he’d rather it was done just in the boardroom.”


But despite being such a bright guy, getting around the capital is one thing Wenger has never mastered, according to Hill-Wood.


He said: “He has a very nice house in Totteridge but he does not know his way around London.


“He can find his way from Totteridge to the Emirates and the training ground.Other than that, he gets quite confused!”
Although Wenger has been linked with all manner of jobs, Hill-Wood insisted he had never feared he would quit the Gunners.


He said: “As I see it, he has a perfect job. Forgetting that he does get well paid, he gets the full support of the board – who all like him – and we never interfere.



“We understand each other very well but if he wants to go to Real Madrid, I am sure he will ring up and say, ‘I want to go to Real Madrid’.


“And I will say, ‘Arsene, are you sure you are not being a bloody fool?’.


“If he decided tomorrow he wants to go, I would respect that. If in two years (when his contract runs out), he decides he wants to stay, I would respect that.”


Hill-Wood also confirmed Wenger does have cash to splash on his squad.


He added: “We have told him there is quite a lot of money he could spend.


“He says he realises that but he hasn’t actually found any player he thinks can improve the squad.


“I remember a couple of years ago (director) Danny Fizsman saying, ‘If we gave you £100m, what would you do with it?’. He said: ‘Quite frankly, I would give it back’.”

Perhaps Gordon Brown ought to make a move for Wenger – who has a masters degree in economics – and get him to sort out the country’s financial crisis

[Karl]

ARSENE WENGER is so clever he could have been the president of France.

#bodycopy a { font-size: 12px; }


That is the view of Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood, who once witnessed Wenger stun a member of the House of Lords with his analysis of why a united Europe will never work.


Happily for Hill-Wood and Gunners fans, Wenger – who turned 60 yesterday – opted for a career in football rather than politics.


Hill-Wood said: “Football is his life. I think he could have been president of France, or chief executive of Air France or Shell, or whatever.



“Thankfully, he chose football and Arsenal. God forbid the day he leaves. I will be in a box or something by then, or doddering around on my Zimmer frame!”


During his record 13-plus years with the north Londoners, Wenger has continued to impress with not just the quality of the football he serves up but also the depth of his intellect.


Hill-Wood has been left amazed by Wenger’s knowledge on numerous occasions, with the most notable moment around three years ago.


The Gunners chairman said: “We were at Tottenham and one of my guests was my friend (Lord) Clive Hollick.


“He is a very keen Arsenal fan and a season-ticket holder. He was there and Arsene came for a cup of coffee before the game. Clive said he wanted to talk to Arsene about the EU and the harmonisation of everything in Europe. Arsene then gave a five-minute lecture on how bloody stupid the whole thing was. He explained how he came from Alsace-Lorraine and his grandfather fought for the Germans on the Russian front.


“But he said he was now French, because the French took over from the Russians after the war. Living on one side of the river made you German and on Arsene’s side you were French – and the two didn’t like each other.


“Hollick, who was very prominent in the Labour Party, said he found what Arsene said extremely interesting, admitting he needed to do a little bit more homework before talking to him again!


“Arsene’s summing up of the European problem was so succinct. And when (French President) Nicolas Sarkosy and Gordon Brown came to their summit at the Emirates last year, I was told both of them were much more interested in talking to Arsene than talking to each other.” Wenger’s high-flying Gunners face West Ham tomorrow at Upton Park and Hill-Wood, 73, revealed not only will the Frenchman know all about Gianfranco Zola’s team, he has an amazing in-depth knowledge about players from all over the world.



Hill-Wood added: “(Arsenal managing director) Ken Friar mentioned the other day some player to Arsene who nobody had ever heard of.


“Arsene said: ‘Yes, he is interesting. He is 24-and-a-half-years-old, his mum is very dominating and his dad is leaving them’.


“Ken said: ‘How the bloody hell do you know all that?’. Arsene replied: ‘I just do’.” Unassuming Wenger became the club’s longest-serving manager in the build-up to the 6-2 defeat of Blackburn earlier this month.


There was no fanfare, with Hill-Wood adding: “We gave him a silver replica of the Emirates.


“He hates being given anything but I think he was quite touched.


“I asked him if he would accept it on the pitch before the Blackburn game but he said he’d rather it was done just in the boardroom.”


But despite being such a bright guy, getting around the capital is one thing Wenger has never mastered, according to Hill-Wood.


He said: “He has a very nice house in Totteridge but he does not know his way around London.


“He can find his way from Totteridge to the Emirates and the training ground.Other than that, he gets quite confused!”
Although Wenger has been linked with all manner of jobs, Hill-Wood insisted he had never feared he would quit the Gunners.


He said: “As I see it, he has a perfect job. Forgetting that he does get well paid, he gets the full support of the board – who all like him – and we never interfere.



“We understand each other very well but if he wants to go to Real Madrid, I am sure he will ring up and say, ‘I want to go to Real Madrid’.


“And I will say, ‘Arsene, are you sure you are not being a bloody fool?’.


“If he decided tomorrow he wants to go, I would respect that. If in two years (when his contract runs out), he decides he wants to stay, I would respect that.”


Hill-Wood also confirmed Wenger does have cash to splash on his squad.


He added: “We have told him there is quite a lot of money he could spend.


“He says he realises that but he hasn’t actually found any player he thinks can improve the squad.


“I remember a couple of years ago (director) Danny Fizsman saying, ‘If we gave you £100m, what would you do with it?’. He said: ‘Quite frankly, I would give it back’.”

Perhaps Gordon Brown ought to make a move for Wenger – who has a masters degree in economics – and get him to sort out the country’s financial crisis