Wenger warning to Chelsea

14 April 2012

Arsene Wenger today warned Chelsea that they will find it much harder next season when they face greater expectations.

As he looked back on a fortnight when Arsenal's championship challenge disintegrated and insisted he will not change his policy in the transfer market or be intimidated by Chelsea's massive spending power.

A draw with Manchester City and defeats against Bolton and Manchester United coupled with Chelsea's charge towards the title have left Arsenal 13 points adrift of Jose Mourinho's men.

But Wenger warned Mourinho: "It will be much tougher for you next season."

The Arsenal manager refuses to panic and firmly believes that his team will come good.

Wenger said: "The way to compete with Chelsea's money is by playing good football, it's as simple as that. What you can do is fight with your own weapons.

"For Chelsea, it is new, it is the first year and the expectation level is not as high as anywhere else. You compete by trying to find good players at a different price. We try to fight Chelsea with younger players but we need to be more patient because of that. You can't throw it all out of the window. We have fantastic young players and we need to mature them for a while and believe in them.

"It is a big challenge against a club with so much money but I do not want to make too big a fuss about it because, first and foremost, you need to do as well as you can. That is the most important thing. If there is a better team after that, then you have to accept it. I still feel, if we had beaten Manchester United this week, we had a chance of catching Chelsea. It's not finished yet but, for us, it is too far now."

Wenger believes Arsenal's problems started with the injuries that deprived him simultaneously of the experience of Brazilians Gilberto Silva and Edu in central midfield.

"We had to throw young players in because of that," he said. "But overall we have to stick to what we believe is right. We can fight wealthier clubs by doing that and I will not change my mind on that."

Wenger accepted that defensive frailties have cost Arsenal dear and that may prompt him to make changes for tomorrow's game at Aston Villa.

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia could pay the price for his eccentric performances at Bolton and against United. Of Almunia's chances of keeping his place ahead of Jens Lehmann, Wenger conceded: "I haven't made a decision."

However, the Arsenal manager refused to single out any individuals for blame in recent results. He said: "What we have for sure is a defensive problem. Not as individuals because they are the same players as last year. But in the big games our defenders don't have the same confidence as last season. Then, we were solid and now we don't have that same solidity. Maybe it's because we have fielded more offensive teams than before and also, when you are on a high, you keep any bad habits because you don't pay individually for them when things are going for you.

"As for myself, I have not lost my selfconfidence. You question everything but that doesn't mean you lose confidence. I have complete confidence in my ability and, don't forget, we are still in the Champions League, still in the FA Cup and we are third in the league.

"I'm not saying everything is perfect but we have good players - and they have not become bad from one day until the next.

"If you let every disappointment get you down, you go nowhere. There is no life without disappointment. What I do is to try to analyse what we can improve. The players have not achieved what they have achieved without being mentally strong. They want to bounce back quickly."

Arsenal will be without their first-choice central defence at Villa Park as Kolo Toure is suspended while Sol Campbell is out for two weeks because of an ankle injury. With Philippe Senderos recovering from a knee problem, Wenger said Justin Hoyte and Pascal Cygan are favourites to play in the heart of defence.

Edu - who failed to secure a move to Valencia last month - may also feature at Villa Park.

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