Rafa envious of Gunners
11 Jan 2007 - 08:29:27
Liverpool coach Rafa Benitez has blamed his inability to compete in the transfer market for younger players as one of the main reasons for his side's two recent defeats at the hands of Arsenal.
Benitez attracted criticism for his team selection, especially after the 6-3 Carling Cup drubbing at Anfield in midweek, but the Spaniard believes the Gunners put more emphasis on their second string than his club do.
He commented: "I do not really like to talk now about who we want and who Arsenal have signed, that would be too easy.
"But they have two or three players that we were monitoring and we couldn't sign because we didn't have the money.
"If you want top-class players you must spend money, not only at senior level but at youth level too.
"We know the players, we know the names. We knew about some of these players that Arsenal have signed, we had reports on them.
"But if you cannot pay six million euros for Abou Diaby or Denilson, you cannot buy them.
"We cannot pay such money for players like that. It is the same with top players too, but it can be more difficult at youth level because some clubs spend big money in this market.
"There is a lesson in this for the whole of our club. If you want to compete at top level you must spend a lot of money and not just on your first team, but on young players and reserves.
"My scouts are excellent, but sometimes we go too slow as a club to make signings we need and when we do, there is not a lot of money."