Lehmann: Arsenal will challenge for title again

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann believes his old club would cope with the loss of Cesc Fabregas.

The Arsenal captain is strongly rumoured to want a move back to his hometown team Barcelona, although Arsenal have rejected an initial £30m bid for the player.

Lehmann, who retired at the end of the season, has faith in his former manager Arsène Wenger to find a suitable replacement for Fabregas should he leave North London for Spain.

He said: "Of course, it would be a disappointment for the Arsenal fans and the club [if Fabregas was to leave] because he was the main man during recent years.

"But you have to move on as a club and if players want to move, you can't force them to stay.

"I think Arsène Wenger will find a good replacement if he leaves – probably some more matured players – and they will be up for the title again."

Lehmann lost his place at Arsenal to Manuel Almunia, who was deemed by many to have had a poor season, but the former German international claims he did not see much of Arsenal or Almunia last season.

He said: "To be honest, I did not follow Arsenal that closely but I did see Almunia's performance against Barcelona and it was absolutely world class for me. But I can't really judge because I did not see the rest of the season."

User Comments

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea