Wenger still focused on youth

Despite failing to win a trophy for nine years, Arsene Wenger has insisted he is unwilling to change the club’s football principles of providing young players the chance in the first team.

Over his 17-year tenure as Arsenal manager, Wenger has always placed a huge emphasis on the importance of bringing through the young players into the first team. There’s no denying this method has seen a number of top players come through the system, it hasn’t resulted in the club achieving the level of success they enjoyed when Wenger had a team packed with experienced talent.

While a number of those young stars who were given an early chance in the Arsenal first team have decided to leave the club, Wenger has always preferred to try and promote from within rather than delve into the transfer market. Though this approach has failed to yield a trophy for nine long years, Wenger has outlined the importance of Arsenal letting youth have its opportunity in the senior side, forcing some Betfair visitors to suggest the Gunners are set for another quiet summer.

“It’s one of the values of our club. We want to be very successful without neglecting the need to give a chance to people. I want it to be part of our tradition and I also want to develop a spirit inside the club that makes the young players be faithful to this club.”

“Of course it’s an early test that not everybody can take on. Some fail but the strong ones just feel they belong there,” admitted Wenger.

But while there are plenty of critics of Manchester City and Chelsea for their perceived money-bought success, no amount of sneering is going to change the fact that those two clubs have probably had to build extensions to their trophy cabinets during the years Arsenal’s has remained untouched.

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