Wenger warns Arsenal about the consequences of the Champions League
On the Seaman Says podcast on September 14, Wenger said that Arsenal has support on the transfer floor and is capable of competing for the Premier League title. According to the former French coach, returning to the Champions League is positive, but he also cautioned his old club that competing on the European front could affect their ambitions to win the Premier League.
"Arsenal invested a lot of money over four years, and did very well," Wenger said on the Seaman Says podcast. "They have a young, talented team who learned a lot from last season. At that time, they could not cope well with the pressure of racing for the championship, mentally it was very difficult. But this season, Arsenal must participate in the Champions League, and that could cause them to drop points in the Premier League."
Last season, coach Mikel Arteta often gave opportunities to young players and reserves in the Europa League, keeping the strength of the mainstays in the Premier League. Thanks to that, the "Gunners" held the advantage when racing for the championship for most of the season, sometimes even eight points ahead of Man City, but still lost steam at the decisive stage and lost the championship.
However, the Premier League runner-up also helped Arsenal attend the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-2017 season under Wenger. That season, the "Gunners" won the FA Cup, but only finished fifth in the Premier League and lost to Bayern with a total score of 2-10 in the 1/8 round of the Champions League.
After missing out on the title, Arsenal went on a shopping spree, spending more than 250 million USD to recruit Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice, and borrowing goalkeeper David Raya from Brentford with the option to buy permanently for a fee of 35 million USD in the summer. 2024. The Emirates Stadium owner started the new season impressively, winning 10 points through the opening four rounds of the Premier League, including a 3-1 comeback victory over Man Utd.
According to Wenger, Man City is still a strong candidate, but believes that the club under Pep Guardiola may be weaker compared to last season when Ilkay Gundogan moved to Barca, and Kevin De Bruyne retired until the end of 2023 due to injury. "Arsenal must take advantage of that," the 73-year-old former coach emphasized.
After a two-week break to make room for the national team, Arsenal will be a guest of Everton in round five of the Premier League on September 17. Three days later, they will return home to take on PSV in the opening round of Group B Champions League.
Wenger is the most successful coach in Arsenal history. In 22 years leading the club, from 1996 to 2018, he won three Premier League titles, including the undefeated 2003-2004 season, seven FA Cups and reached the 2006 Champions League final.
On the Seaman Says podcast, during his time at Arsenal, Wenger revealed his biggest regret was losing left-back Ashley Cole to Chelsea in 2006, and was very close to signing Cristiano Ronaldo and N'Golo Kante. .
