Wenger considers rivals' sales

21 August 2009 08:47
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is interested to see how Manchester United and Liverpool cope with losing key stars this season while he considers Chelsea 'a main threat' for the title.[LNB] The Red Devils sold star performer Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80million and have since brought in Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen to help compensate for the Portuguese's departure.[LNB]Liverpool, meanwhile, parted company with Xabi Alonso, also to Real, for around £25million and have signed Alberto Aquilani to help fill the void left by the Spanish midfielder.[LNB]Wenger has also sold personnel, having seen Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor move to Manchester City, but admits he is intrigued to discover how the Gunners' rivals cope this campaign.[LNB]"The question this season is who will cope the best with what has happened during this transfer market. Let's make sure it is us," he told the club's official magazine.[LNB]Fantastic"The big task for United is replacing the goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored over the last few seasons.[LNB]"You can say whatever you like about Ronaldo, but you have to admit he had two fantastic qualities. [LNB]"Firstly, he was never injured. Secondly, he put the ball in the back of the net. [LNB]"I'm surprised that they didn't reinvest more of the money they got for Ronaldo, but they may do that in January.[LNB]"Manchester United, of course, will continue to be a major force in the championship, but you can see that where we drew four times 0-0, they won them 1-0, sometimes because Ronaldo made the difference. [LNB]"Michael Owen is worth a gamble I think, because he can be an impact player. Also you would hope that he can put his injury problems behind him at some stage. [LNB]"I don't believe he can ever be back to his complete best, but even if he gets to 95 per cent of what he was before, he will be a fantastic player." [LNB]AncelottiOf Liverpool, Wenger said: "Alberto Aquilani will be a good player [for Liverpool], but they have lost a great player in Alonso.[LNB]"He was the brain of the game for Liverpool last season. I don't expect them to struggle this season, but people might have a little question mark about how they replace Alonso." [LNB]Wenger also believes that Chelsea, now under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, will be a force this term, with the Blues having won both of their opening games of the season.[LNB]"I still think that Chelsea will be a main threat for the championship, but their squad is a year older which might have an impact when they have to repeat the games in short succession," he said.[LNB]

Source: SKY_Sports