Arsene Wenger focused on strengthening Arsenal in ‘unpredictable’ market and responds to talk of his future

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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is gearing up for the new Premier League season and has shared his thoughts on various topics in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports.

With the Gunners getting their campaign underway against Liverpool on Sunday, it doesn’t come much tougher for an opening-day fixture.

The French tactician conceded that it would be difficult to predict the Premier League this year given the top managers and players who have entered the fray, but is confident that his team has what it takes to compete as he continues to look at ways of strengthening his squad.

Having conceded that the international tournaments earlier this summer have made life tricky for him in terms of preparation, Wenger has been watching on in the transfer market this week and revealed his opinion on the transfer fees for the likes of Paul Pogba and John Stones, and what it means for his club.

“It makes the market more unpredictable,” he said, as noted by Sky Sports. “Where you could approximately value a player before, today the identity of a club that comes in for a transfer is more important than the rest.

“We want to spend the money when we have it. But we respect the money we have – it is very difficult to find the quality of players who are available. Despite all the money that exists in England there is very little movement in the transfer market.

“We are in the transfer market, we are focused on concentrating on the players we have to get them ready for the season. On the other hand, with what happened with us, of course we are looking outside to strengthen our squad.”

Although his critics will argue against him and insist that he must spend big in order to keep Arsenal competitive, the transfer fees seen this week arguably prove that Wenger is in fact one of the more sensible bosses in the Premier League from a financial perspective.

Big-name players and splashing out big money certainly excites the supporters, but paying over the odds with extortionate fees for talented players with much to prove still doesn’t particularly bode well for the future of the market as it becomes difficult to justify the level of money being thrown around.

Nevertheless, Wenger will still have to loosen the purse strings between now and the deadline a little, with two areas of his squad in particular that still desperately need addressing.

Meanwhile, the 66-year-old was also asked as to whether or not this may be his last year at Arsenal, but he seemed quite hopeful that his journey with the club would continue.

“You never know in your job,” he added. “It is a love story that you hope will last your whole life but you know it could stop at any moment.

“What I will do is continue to work as long as I have the physical potential to work. I will always work.”

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