Arsenal manager says his current squad already has the strength to win the Premier League title
Arsene Wenger has claimed that Arsenal already have sufficient squad quality to potentially regain the Premier League title and strongly suggested that performances in pre-season will now decide whether he makes any more signings.
Petr Cech is the only senior addition so far this summer and, although Wenger did have a summer transfer budget of around £50 million, his first priority is to rediscover what he calls the “cohesion” that Arsenal’s existing players established in finishing last season so strongly.
The areas that he will be assessing most closely in the coming weeks, starting on Wednesday against a Singapore Select XI in the Barclays Asia Trophy, are in central defence and central midfield.
Wenger was keen to buy Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin in January but the form of Francis Coquelin and Santi Cazorla, as well as the returns from injury of Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta, prompted a change of priorities.
“I don’t close the door if we find any player who can strengthen the squad,” said Wenger. “We have already strengthened the squad, but I believe part of the success of the squad is also the level of cohesion. We have a good level of cohesion. I believe we have the quality, and it’s now about how much we can be stronger together.
“We felt at the end of last season that we had moved forward, but it is still not enough. In this pre-season we have to move forward again. We have to move forward together, which for me it is more important than dreaming about finding a miraculous player who wins you everything.
“It’s important we find our combination and cohesion very quickly. We have to use it as a springboard to improve, and our pre-season games can help us strengthen that feeling. It is an opportunity to give an opportunity to people on the fringe of the team. It can influence my decisions until the transfer market is over.”