Wenger hits out at Jose Arsene Wenger

LONDON. – Arsene Wenger on Tuesday night slammed Jose Mourinho and denied he has become a chequebook manager. Mourinho accused his bitter rival of trying to buy the title after reopening hostilities with Wenger by insisting Arsenal have spent more than Chelsea recently. But Wenger defended Arsenal’s record in the transfer market and insisted they develop more home-grown players than other big clubs and people should stop listening to what Mourinho says.

Wenger says his transfer spending will not be influenced by other clubs as he prepares for the Community Shield meeting with champions Chelsea on Sunday.

Gunners boss Wenger said: “We spend when we think we have to spend and do not listen too much to what people think or say.

“You must not listen too much to what people say because ­sometimes in the same week I get two different reproaches. One is that I don’t spend enough and another is I spend too much.

“If you want to create success – which we want desperately – we must focus on what happens inside, just try to do as well as we can and believe in the football we want to play and play it as well as we can and let other people talk.

“We just try to make the right decisions. When you have the money available, we spend it. When we don’t have it, we don’t spend the money we haven’t got.”

Arsenal won the FA Cup for the second successive season in May and finished third in the Premier League – 12 points behind winners Chelsea.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech – signed from Chelsea – remains Arsenal’s only transfer signing so far this summer despite director Lord Harris saying last week that the club could sign “almost anyone”.

However Mourinho believes that Wenger’s side can challenge for the title this season on the back of their spending over the last two years.

“If you add up the amounts clubs have spent in the last three or four years, I think maybe you will find a surprise,” the Portuguese said.

“If you put Mesut Ozil plus Alexis Sanchez, plus Calum Chambers, plus Mathieu Debuchy, you will find a surprise.

“It’s a fantastic squad with good players, fantastic goalkeeper, they are more than ready to be title contenders.”

And Wenger made a thinly-veiled dig at Chelsea’s record of producing home-grown players, with veteran captain John Terry the only player in recent years to have come through the ranks to become a first-team regular.

Arsenal currently have Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs in the first team while Wenger takes pride in developing younger players who they have bought in like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott.

Wenger added: “I believe that one day, if you make real statistics of the players we have developed here, and you compare them to all the other clubs, you would be surprised.”

Arsenal have spent more than Chelsea in the past 12 months but, since Mourinho’s return in 2013, the Portuguese has spent £228.5m on transfers while Wenger has spent £148.4m. — The Mirror.

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