Wenger's Barca vision

Fri, 03 Jul 13:22:10 2009

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is happy to see his club follow Barcelona's lead and build their squad over time rather than imitate Real Madrid's big spending policy.

The Gunners boss has had to fend off some criticism from the club's fans over recent times as he continues to invest in youth rather than challenging to sign big name players such as Lyon striker Karim Benzema.

But the French coach is happy with his way of working and admits that is one of the reasons why he resisted the chance to join Madrid.

"I refused [Real Madrid] because I have built a young team and I have the feeling that I have not finished my job," Wenger told French radio station RMC. "I am not denying it will be a decisive season. If we are not in the title race, we will have to build everything again.

"We have got an 'anti-Real' policy. We build on the long term, a bit like Barcelona. There are two prices today, the price when Real Madrid buy and the market price.

"In the market, 35 million euros for (Karim) Benzema is a very good price. But is he three times less good than (Cristiano) Ronaldo? I don't think so."

 

Comment 4 - 23 of 23

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. @ pakeanutziarte. Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets,­ Valdes, Pique, Puyol, Bojan, and a few more players all­ came from Barca's youth club. Since nothing is­ perfect, it's understandable that Barca would bring­ in outside talents to compliment what they already­ have.

    From elson l, on Tue 7 Jul 5:07AM

  2. Barca rulz!!

    From Top Dog, on Tue 7 Jul 2:46AM

  3. GET IT RIGHT it was SHAREHOLDERS who critisied le PROF­ NOT TRUE ARSENAL FANS

    From LEX, on Sun 5 Jul 3:18AM

  4. Wenger is a prof.

    From damnsoldja, on Sat 4 Jul 11:30PM

  5. To pakeanutziarte - What are you talking about??? Look­ at the backbone of Barca. VALDES, PUYOL, XAVI, INIESTA,­ MESSI, BOUSQUETS 'ALL' came through the youth­ system. And how much did Yaya Troure cost??? 6 million­ pounds - hardly bank breaking! Henry came at the­ 'market' rate and not even in the same season­ as Alves. So you should get your FACTS correct! Hleb at­ 12 million pounds was the going rate also. He has­ offers from Bayern and Inter but choose Barca. What­ Madrid have spent this summer Barca haven't spent­ in over 5 YEARS! Come on mate, get your FACTS right­ before you start rumbling about things you clearly have­ no idea.

    From Peter, on Sat 4 Jul 9:07PM

  6. I think it"s more to do with Arsene­ Wenger.Realised what a mistake he made by not joining­ madrid it will be 5 years & no trophies

    From bhskeldon, on Sat 4 Jul 7:10PM

  7. Let's look at facts:

    1. Prior to Wenger: Arsenal­ won 3 titles in last 40 years before Arsene.
    Before­ Wenger Arsenal were champions every 12 or 13 years or­ more.

    With Wenger: 3 titles in only 13 years - Title­ every 4 years and a bit (average)

    2. Prior to Wenger:­ 6 FA Cups in almost 120 years - Each FA cup title every­ 20 years on average.

    With Wenger: 4 FA Cups in 13­ years - one FA cup title every 3 years and a bit. (plus­ 5 finals, meaning 9 FA Cup finals in only 13­ years!!)

    3. Prior to 2006 Arsenal was never in the­ semifinals of Champions Cup, later Champions­ league.

    Last 4 years: 2 times (on average every 2­ years) in the CL semis.

    Don't diss The Prof­ without the facts.

    From Fergie_in_2_Years_Time, on Sat 4 Jul 3:24PM

  8. look at the strategy rome wasnt built in a day­ comparison to Barca,Realor Man U well look at the­ spending yes it is good to buy established players but­ look at wenger and think to build the invincibles who­ ever heard of henry ,viera,pires,lungberg,bergkamp­ among others this was a team built over time and it was­ a work of art with out spending too much it is also an­ issue of checks and balances so for all the haters ,non­ pateint fans this will unvielit self sooner than later­ IN ARSENE i trust 100% no matter what what he has­ achieved took fergie along time so lets talk abut time­ frame.at times i wish atsenal fans would like liverpool­ fans whom without a single league champion ship are­ still trying hard so patience is a a virture and always­ counts when it matters word ofthe wise

    From gillean, on Fri 3 Jul 10:42PM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I think Arsene want to buy, but the club has got to pay­ stadium debt to some Mafia, he is therefore scare to­ offend them. How long are we going to wait for a­ trophy. Can people gather together and get this man off­ because he is going to destroy our club for personal­ accolade he want to achieve for himself.

    From Mr­ TJ
    Glasgow

    From manatamara, on Fri 3 Jul 8:10PM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Therefore Arsene have to come and work for Barca - very­ good young talents from B team, enough money to buy the­ missing parts of the team puzzle (if something is­ missing), attacking minded team and philosophy (Long­ live Johan Cruyff). So take Cesc and come in the best­ team in the world - Barca!!! Forca Barca - go and get­ next treble!!!

    From Vesso D, on Fri 3 Jul 7:34PM

  11. in arsene we trust!!

    From Hafiz, on Fri 3 Jul 6:42PM

  12. not bashing him...I respect the man...in this day an­ age people think that throwing enough money at anything­ will yield the proper results.....real madrid has done­ this in the past and with disasterous results....there­ are intangibles involved when managing a football­ club.....team chemistry, morale, systems all fall into­ play getting the best 11 players in the world­ doesn't automatically equate to championship­ hardware.....

    From VictorS, on Fri 3 Jul 6:21PM

  13. I dont like this...this is about the umpteenth article­ on arsene strategy...he really is going on a sales­ blitz right now lol translation....thats it for­ transfers dont expect anything else to happen in­ regards to the gunners...we have our squad and­ we're rolling the dice......

    From VictorS, on Fri 3 Jul 6:14PM

  14. I don't understand this wenger. What team is he­ building? He is building a team that can go many years­ without a single trophy.
    KEVIN, NIGERIA

    From tinselgroup, on Fri 3 Jul 5:29PM

  15. Well! lets see wat Arsene and arsenal will do­ again.but i dont want to bet on arsene because anytime­ i do,i loose.He is a great coach that believes in­ building.But sometimes i believe u need some solid­ materials to make ur structure stand.

    From philip, on Fri 3 Jul 5:28PM

  16. When a team goes trophyless for a season, they're­ forced/pressurized to work in the transfer market.­ Remember in the 2007/2008 season? Barcelona went­ trophyless that season and went all out in buying­ Caceres, Milito, Zambrotta, Thuram and Thierry Henry,­ all of them costing almost 100 million euros. If­ Barcelona go trophyless next season, mark my words they­ are going to buy some players.

    From Bob, on Fri 3 Jul 2:24PM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    ]

    From stacy.gillett, on Fri 3 Jul 2:05PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Ronaldo is a product and he is 10 times more worthy­ than Benzema in terms of marketing

    From Richie, on Fri 3 Jul 1:59PM

  19. Barcelona not buying instant success and building their­ squad over time?? Pull the other one.

    So what do you­ call the millions spent on the likes of Henry, Abidal,­ Dani Alves, Keita, Hleb, Henrique and Caceres, not to­ mention a 50 million Euro bid for Villa?

    From pakeanutziarte, on Fri 3 Jul 1:57PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    wenger what are you on about? "build on the long­ term "
    Perhaps wenger should define "|long­ term" its been too long a term since you won­ anything.

    From chris f, on Fri 3 Jul 1:51PM
Sort comments by: Most recent

Not already a Yahoo! user ? to get a free Yahoo! Account