Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been accused of ‘cheating’ Arsenal fans by refusing to buy a striker despite knowing that striker Danny Welbeck had suffered a serious injury.
Welbeck has been ruled out until Christmas due to the 24-year-old needing surgery on his knee. This leaves the Gunners with just one out-and-out striker in Olivier Giroud, something that has caused a stir among fans and pundits alike.
Former Arsenal star Paul Merson has blasted Wenger, saying that the Frenchman is cheating the Arsenal faithful.
“It cheats the fans.” he said. “They think ‘what are we coming for? We turn up every week, pay the highest prices and what for – the top four? We might get a day out at Wembley again in the FA Cup.’ Wow-ee!”
“Just put in a bid for Benzema – £75m. If Real Madrid turn around and say ‘we’re not selling him’, you can’t argue with that. You’ve put in a bid and if they turn it down or the lad doesn’t want to come, that’s the way it goes. But show something.”
“There’s a saying in life: Keep on doing the things you do and you’ll get the same results. How different is this season going to be for Arsenal? It’s the same team that finished 12 points behind Chelsea last year. Why, this year, will this team finish above Chelsea?”
“I can tell you now, there will be a phase this season when they’ll be unbelievable, win seven on the trot and play the best football you’ve ever seen. But at the end of the season, with this team and no signings, I’d be absolutely shocked if they won the Premier League.”
However, Arsene Wenger has defended his summer spending, and hit back at Merse – someone Wenger isn’t all too fond of:
“I managed Paul Merson. I tried. I’m not interested in Paul Merson.”
“These debates are a joke, a farce. People who have managed altogether zero games teach everybody how you should behave. It’s a farce. Honestly, I cannot even be upset about it.”
“People criticise without any proven fact, just because they love to criticise. It’s much more about bitterness than any real objective facts.”
[All quotes from the Telegraph]