Source: SKY_Sports
Wenger knew Upson would shine
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists he always knew defender Matthew Upson would make the grade in the Premier League.
Wenger signed the youngster from Luton in 1997, but he found first-team chances hard to come behind the likes of Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Martin Keown.
Upson had made 35 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, including 20 starts, when he finally moved on to Birmingham in January 2003 for an initial fee of just £1million.
West Ham paid a whopping £7.5million for Upson four years later and Wenger has conceded that he always believed the talented defender would make the grade at Premier League level.
Wenger admits with first-team chances hard to come by at Arsenal it was only right to allow him to leave the club and grow and develop as a player elsewhere.
Big career"I knew when he left that he would make a big career, but at that moment when Matthew was here, he was impatient," admitted the Frenchman.
"That I could understand as well because I bought him at Luton and after a few years he didn't play here.
"I didn't stop him [going] because I knew he had qualities to play in the Premiership, but he had players in front of him that stopped him."
QualityWenger insisted: "I knew he would make it.
"He had Premiership quality and had the potential to be international quality.
"He is there now because he is at the right age for a central defender and for a few years now he has not been stopped by injury which was his problem for a while."
Upson comes up against his former club on Sunday and Wenger has confirmed that he has thought about bringing the England international back to Arsenal, something he rarely does with ex-players.
"Yes, he was always in my mind. Upson has good quality, good attitude, good spirit," he continued.
"But of course this is not the best moment to talk about that because he is a player at West Ham.
"Three, four, five years ago yes, but now he is settled and has a good career where he is."
