Source: Team_Talk
Wenger expects tough title battle
Arsene Wenger accepts it will be tough for Arsenal to mount a serious Premier League title challenge now Manchester City have joined the race.[LNB] Arsenal finished third last season after falling away in the final third of the season, and they are likely to face increased competition in the title race this season.[LNB]"We finished third last season, so we of course try to improve," said Wenger.[LNB]"Manchester City have now joined in on the big targets, so it will be hard."[LNB]Wenger ran the rule over Laurent Koscielny and Marouane Chamakh during Saturday's opening pre-season friendly at Barnet, where Jay Simpson netted a double in a 4-0 win, and the Gunners will now head to Austria for a 10-day training camp.[LNB]World Cup finalists Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie will not be asked to return until the Emirates Cup begins on July 31 but the rest of the club's World Cup stars will join the squad in the Alps, where where warm-up matches have been arranged against Sturm Graz and SC Neusiedl.[LNB]Arsenal will then tackle AC Milan and Celtic in the Emirates Cup, before their final friendly away to Legia Warsaw on August 7 ahead of the trip to Liverpool for their Premier League opener.[LNB]Wenger continued: "We have six players coming back to join us on Monday when we go to Austria, and then the hard work starts.[LNB]"We have some tougher challenges coming up, especially in the Emirates Cup, so those games will give the new signings an opportunity to adapt, but we have to give them some time."[LNB]Theo Walcott was back in action at Barnet having missed out on Fabio Capello's England squad and Wenger believes the 21-year-old will emerge a better player from the experience.[LNB]"Theo is committed in training and he has always shown that when he is in trouble or not rated as much as he should be, he responds well on the pitch," said the Frenchman.[LNB]"I called him when he was not picked, and tried to help him focus on the future.[LNB]"He is a young boy and has it all in front of him."[LNB]Wenger will look to further strengthen his squad before the new campaign but with the new Premier League squad quota of just 25 players, with eight having to qualify as 'home-grown', he could be forced to move people on.[LNB]"We have to respect this rule, so with players coming in, that means players going out at well," he said.[LNB]"I am not too much for rules, I believe what is important is the quality.[LNB]"The Premier League is the most watched league in the world, and you only get that if you focus on quality more than on artificial rules.[LNB]"I do not believe the fact that England did not win the World Cup is linked with that."
