Five takeaways from Wenger’s Leicester press conference
Arsenal face their first away fixture of the new Premier League season when they travel to face reigning champions Leicester City at tea-time on Saturday.
A lot of the focus on Saturday’s game will revolve around both Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who were intensely linked with a transfer to the Gunners this summer.
But with Vardy having rejected a move to Arsenal earlier in the window, not to mention Mahrez signing a new deal with the Foxes yesterday, Arsenal will have to look for new recruits elsewhere.
Despite Leicester City winning the Premier League last season, they picked up exactly zero points against Arsene Wenger’s men who dramatically won the Emirates Stadium fixture courtesy of a last gasp Danny Welbeck strike.
This will of course give Arsenal fans hope heading into this one but the North Londoners will have to cope without Aaron Ramsey and Alex Iwobi who frustratingly picked up injuries in the opener against Liverpool.
But with Arsene Wenger having conducted his pre-game press conference earlier today, Arsenal Mania are today listing FIVE of the major takeaways.
He understands fan frustration
When asked whether he was surprised by the fan reaction following Sunday’s 3-4 defeat to Liverpool, Arsene Wenger plainly said “no”.
Despite being incredibly slow in signing new recruits this summer, Arsene Wenger knows exactly where he stands with supporters at the moment and surely he has something up his sleeve in the remainder of the transfer window.
However, fans are losing the faith and quickly with the stubborn Frenchman having already proved that he’s been unwilling to learn from previous mistakes.
He admits signing a defender is important
Admitting that a defensive signing was already a priority ahead of Sunday’s loss to Liverpool, it would appear that Arsenal are still locked in negotiations in private.
All of the talk surrounds Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi at the moment but the deal has stalled and that appears to be due to the Spanish club’s high valuation of the German international.
With European clubs knowing exactly how much money is in the Premier League at the moment, those teams are naturally asking for a lot for their prized assets and it seems Arsenal need to put up or shut up at the moment.
Aaron Ramsey will be out for 2 to 3 weeks
The bad news for Arsenal supporters is that Aaron Ramsey is out for two to three weeks, as confirmed by Arsene Wenger in the press conference.
It’s the same old, same old for Arsenal on the injury front with the club having already suffered their fair share of injuries in pre-season and against Liverpool.
It would appear that in credence to Wenger, Ramsey was rushed back too soon whereas the likes of Laurent Koscielny, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud are still on extended leave.
That said, Arsenal were already blessed with options in central midfield so why Aaron Ramsey was rushed back exactly, we have no clue.
He doesn’t know why Jamie Vardy didn’t join
As mentioned at the outset, a lot of the attention around the weekend’s game will be focused around Jamie Vardy.
Rejecting Arsenal earlier in the transfer window, Arsene Wenger was asked about Arsenal’s pursuit of Vardy in the press conference.
Speaking on why he didn’t make a move to Arsenal, Wenger said: “You have to respect decisions of people”.
As alluded to by Thierry Henry at the weekend, you have to now question whether Arsenal is the first choice in England and that appears to be very questionable at the moment.
He won’t spend money for the sake of it
Arsenal fans hate when Arsene Wenger goes the tangent but again the Frenchman alluded to the fact that he’ll only spend big money on genuine quality this transfer window.
Unfortunately, Wenger’s idea of value for money is at odds with what you can actually sign out there.
Deals for Shkodran Mustafi and Alexandre Lacazette appear to be pricey despite both being capable players who would definitely fill the clear gaps in this Arsenal squad right now.