The Gunners might not have won any silverware last season, although some of their dazzling performances in Europe seems to have cost them dear, according to manager Arsene Wenger. The Daily Telegraph reports that the Arsenal manager cites his team’s fantastic 2-0 win against Milan at the San Siro as a game where the star talents in the team were showcased to all and sundry, causing clubs to become interested in the likes of Flamini, Hleb and Adebayor.
“The Milan game did us a lot of good, but also bad,” he said.
“We gained a lot of credit all over the world through that game – but also at that time clubs became interested in our players. This game unsettled our season. Many clubs do not work as well as we do, and do not give a chance to young players so they looked at the quality of team display in that game, and it attracted a lot of keen clubs.”
Arsenal were certainly very impressive that evening, with every player contributing to a superb win against the then-holders. It must be frustrating for Wenger to only see clubs chasing his players when they appear in the Champions League – it’s not as if scouts from Milan and Barcelona were probably over in England watching them in the Premier League each week.
Cesc Fabregas is doing a pretty good job of showing what he’s all about during Euro 2008 – will Wenger end up citing this as a moment where clubs started sniffing around his jewel in the crown?