Arsene Wenger wants to slim down Arsenal squad ahead of signings
The Gunners’ problems in defence were exposed during the 1-0 defeat at Stoke.
Arsene Wenger wants to slim down his Arsenal squad before making any further additions.
Some of the north London club’s shortcomings, particularly defensively, were exposed as they suffered a 1-0 defeat at Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday.
Gunners manager Wenger has not ruled out more signings before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, but his immediate priority is to move out unwanted players.
He said: “I expect to sell players first. We have too many players. It is not manageable. Many clubs are in this situation – that is why the transfer market is quiet. We have 33 players at the moment. We have too many players.”
Regarding arrivals, Wenger said he could not get into “transfer mode” in the immediate aftermath of the loss at the bet365 Stadium.
Arsenal outplayed Stoke for long spells and were aggrieved not to gain at least a point after a strong penalty appeal was rejected and a goal disallowed. They spurned a host of other chances.
Hector Bellerin felt he should have been awarded the spot-kick after being brought down by Mame Biram Diouf in the first half.
Jese Rodriguez compounded their frustration by scoring a superb debut goal for the Potters early in the second period.
Arsenal finished strongly with Alexandre Lacazette rifling home a fierce shot but he was ruled marginally offside.
Wenger conceded his side, who despite their dominance were vulnerable to counter-attacks, were caught out, but dismissed the general criticism of the defence that has grown since last week’s frantic 4-3 win over Leicester.
“Last week we conceded two goals on corners and they only had three shots on goal, so I don’t believe we defended so badly,” he said. “On set-pieces, yes.
“But here I say we could look at ourselves and, on the goal we conceded, we were 100 per cent guilty.”
Wenger, who expects Alexis Sanchez to be fit next week, added midfielder Mesut Ozil “did fine” and should not be singled out for criticism.
“Personally, I don’t think he deserves it,” he said of remarks from TV pundits Steven Gerrard and Martin Keown.
