Arsenal (2) v FC Twente (0):ARSENE WENGER admitted yesterday he was struggling. In the context of last Saturday's defeat at Fulham in the Premier League, when his team's limp surrender provoked a barrage of criticism, the manager's comment might have been revealing, perhaps even the cause for alarm.
Wenger, though, was merely remarking on how difficult his search for a central midfielder was proving and that, he insisted, was little more than an irritant. Ahead of the return fixture with FC Twente tonight, in the Champions League final qualifying round, the Frenchman was a case study in defiance and conviction.
Concern remains among the club's support that their team lacks leadership and experience, that a couple of injuries can make their resources appear thin. Those fans are reeling from the Fulham defeat and need a tonic against Twente, whom Arsenal lead 2-0 from the first leg.
Wenger has been frugal in the summer transfer market, signing four players for a combined €22.6 million and recouping that sum from sales. He has conceded he needs fresh blood in central midfield, having lost Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva, and he has been linked to Aston Villa's Gareth Barry, Xabi Alonso of Liverpool and Udinese's Gokhan Inler, among others, though Inler said yesterday he intended to remain at the Serie A club.
But Wenger refuses to see a correlation between heavy spending on star names and success. He believes his young squad has what it takes to win trophies.
"What I hate the most is [the attitude that] when you have a bad game, the only recourse is to buy," he said. "The solution is to play as a team, to respond as a team and show we have the needed quality. It hurt terribly to lose a game like Saturday but you cannot be too catastrophic. It is not necessary to make a revolution."
As Chelsea prepare to spend €36 million on Robinho from Real Madrid and Manchester United a similar sum on Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov and Rafael Benitez continues to lobby for greater latitude in the market at Liverpool, Wenger's approach appears out of step within the so-called Big Four. He is unrepentant.
"I don't know why we are always under pressure to buy £30-million or £40-million players," he said. "I am under pressure to buy good players; it is as simple as that. Good players are not always necessarily linked to the price. There is still a market to buy the right players. We are struggling to find them but we will find them."
Wenger has a selection dilemma over Cesc Fabregas, the midfielder who has been sorely missed with a hamstring injury.
"I believe that to bring him back and lose him again for three weeks would be a mistake but if I think there is not a medical risk, I will play him," said Wenger, who has named the Spaniard in his match-day squad.
Wenger offered his captain William Gallas protection in the face of heavy fire. The defender failed to track the Fulham goalscorer Brede Hangeland, and the former Arsenal player Lee Dixon attacked him for his inability to inspire.
Wenger said: "It would be unfair to single anybody out on Saturday. We lost as a team and we want to respond as a team."
