Wenger can see no invincibles

23 September 2012 08:16
Arsene Wenger feels he has assembled his strongest Arsenal squad for some time but maintains no Premier League team has looked unbeatable. The Gunners boss moved to offset the £24million sale of captain Robin van Persie to Manchester United with the addition of experienced internationals Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski. Podolski scored his third goal in as many games in the midweek Champions League away win over Montpellier. It marked a shift in policy from Wenger, who has long championed the potential of youth. Now, though, the French manager believes he has the balance just right for a long-overdue sustained title assault. "In terms of quality and numbers in midfield, yes, for sure (the squad is the strongest)," Wenger said. "When you think at the moment we have (Jack) Wilshere who is not playing, (Tomas) Rosicky who is not playing and was very important for us last year, (Emmanuel) Frimpong is not playing, (Francis) Coquelin is not playing, (Aaron) Ramsey too, so we have exceptional choice." Wenger, whose 2003/04 team finished the league season unbeaten and were branded 'The Invincibles', cannot see any team ready to dominate the title race this term. "I feel it is very unpredictable at the moment," he said. "You have no team who gives out the strength that make you think they are unbeatable - none of the teams I have seen gave me that impression." Cazorla, 27, has caught the eye with a string of cavalier displays at the heart of Arsenal's unbeaten start, and while he makes frequent appearances for Spain he cannot hold down a regular position and is often used off the bench. Wenger believes the former Malaga man would walk into most international teams. Wenger said: "Cazorla is a good link between midfield and the final third. He gives you availability always to turn the game forward and an exceptional technical level. "You would think Cazorla or (Mikel) Arteta would play in many other countries, but with Spain they don't because they have (Andres) Iniesta, (Sergi) Busquets and Xavi. Players like Cazorla and Arteta, even (Cesc) Fabregas is not always playing. "They are all technical high-level, gifted players. It is not a coincidence, it is down to the way they educate their players [in Spain]. This is a concentration on technique." Wenger sees similar qualities in his squad. "Here at Arsenal, we are starting to have a little generation of players from England who are similar," he said. "(Alex Oxlade) Chamberlain, Wilshere, (Kieran) Gibbs has good technical level, and we have some young players behind who are similar. "I think we will see even more and more because the whole world tries to produce these types of players."

Source: team_talk