Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes
Chelsea are favourites for the Premier League — but thinks the squad he
has assembled can win the Gunners their first title since 2004.
Arsenal,who begin the new season against
West Ham on Sunday, finished 12 points behind Chelsea last season after
a slow start to the campaign, ESPN reports.
But a strong finish and a successful preseason have seen expectations that they can challenge more strongly grow.
Wenger told a news conference: “Our
ambition is to win the Premier League, but we have to sustain that by
performance and fighting spirit in every game.
“We won the FA Cup last season and finished third, so we want to set out target very high.
“I believe we have the squad now [to
compete for the title]. I am very happy with the squad I have, but we
always look to strengthen. If that turns up, we will always look to
strengthen.
“Chelsea won it by a margin last year,
so they are the favourites. After that, let’s see how it goes. After the
first 15 games, we will know more.”
Wenger again stressed the importance of a
strong start to the new campaign, explaining: “Last year, after 12
games, we were 15 points behind Chelsea. In the next 26 games, we took
56 points and Chelsea took 55.
“Let’s start strong this season — but we
have a tricky start because we play two derbies and Liverpool and well
in the first three games.”
The Arsenal manager was again asked
about his reported interest in Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, and
said he had never expressed that himself.
But he added: “If something comes up, we don’t rule out that we can do it.”
He also praised the impact made by new
goalkeeper Petr Cech following his arrival from Chelsea, saying: “Cech
has integrated very well in the team.
“He is a good communicator. He has experience, he has class and he brought all that to the team.”
No comments:
Post a Comment