Not my fault I don’t sign English players, says Arsene Wenger

Bill Edgar

Arsène Wenger admitted yesterday that he once sought English talent for Arsenal in the transfer market to satisfy fans’ cravings for home players, only to abandon the policy because it would not allow him to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea.

The manager’s propensity to select all-foreign lineups has been criticised in a Professional Footballers’ Association report that blames falling standards among English players on the increasingly large numbers of overseas signings in the Barclays Premier League. But Wenger defended his approach, claiming that the wealth of United and Chelsea means they take the best this country has to offer and that the remaining players are not good enough for a title-chasing team.

Wenger spent a combined £14 million on Richard Wright and Francis Jeffers in 2001, but neither made an impact at the club. Since then, only two of his 35 signings have been English, both of them teenagers, while United have spent more than £20 million to acquire each of Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney and Chelsea have done so for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

“Yes, of course, it was a conscious effort [to buy English players],” Wenger said of the purchases of Wright and Jeffers. “I know that I am in England and that people will want to see that I play English players.” The Frenchman then explained why he has looked abroad instead for players. “You have not produced enough top-quality English players in the past ten years,” he said. “Those reduced number of top-quality players who have been produced have gone to clubs with more financial power than we have.

“I have to compete with Manchester United and Chelsea in a different way. We had to make a choice and this is to buy young [foreign] players. We have young English players who are very good. Maybe they will come out and play. There is still [Theo] Walcott and [Justin] Hoyte, who are top players.”

Wenger feels that his team have been a force for good. “When a guy sits in the stands at Arsenal and he sees a fantastic cross and a volley into the goal, he doesn’t think, ‘Oh, where is he from?’ He just enjoys it.

“I think Arsenal have done a lot for the popularity of the game all over the world and that is more important for me then to see where the players come from. You cannot want the best league in the world and only have English players. That would create mediocrity.”