Outburst shocks Wenger
24 Oct 2007 - 09:17:13
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has tried to placate Jens Lehmann by telling the volatile German goalkeeper that he still has a future at the Emirates Stadium.
The 37-year-old is unhappy after being ousted from the first team by Manuel Almunia who kept a clean sheet in Tuesday's Champions League annihilation of Slavia Prague.
But Wenger insisted: "There is no purpose to humiliate anybody. I respect, and I have said it many times, that I respect him a lot.
"That is how he experiences things but that is not my purpose [to humiliate him] at all. I will chat with him about it - I don't know when or why that came out but we will chat.
"There is fierce competition in every position at all the big clubs and once the team comes out the competition has to stop. That is part of our job. We are in a job where competition exists inside and outside."
Lehmann, who has not featured for more than two months for the Premier League leaders, despite having recovered from Achilles and elbow injuries to play for his country against the Republic of Ireland, had told German TV station Premiere: "It's possible that some day I'll feel like talking about the whole issue.
"But at the moment I'm just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. That's something one has to take in.
"But I think, and this is aimed at my dear manager, one shouldn't humiliate players for too long. I'm an Arsenal player and I won't just fade away quietly.
"I'm convinced that I'll be playing again. Manuel Almunia has not yet showed that he can win matches for us.
"I've experienced this situation before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper. I can't imagine he'll be able to handle that."
