Arsene Wenger: Work permits should be scrapped for foreign players, they're the reason we didn't sign Angel di Maria

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants work permits for foreign footballers to be scrapped.

The Frenchman, who revealed he missed out on bringing Angel di Maria to the club nine years ago due to employment red tape, says the UK’s football authorities should open its borders to all overseas players, not just those who qualify for the necessary paperwork.

Arsenal are poised to sign Villarreal’s Gabriel Paulista, who has a £15million release clause. But the transfer is reliant on the Brazilian obtaining a work permit, which will not be a foregone conclusion given the central defender has not played international football.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants work permits for foreign footballers to be scrapped

Villarreal's Gabriel Paulista (right) could be heading for Arsenal if they can secure a work permit

Rules state that only players who have played 75 per cent of matches for a nation inside FIFA’s top 70 within the past two years are eligible for work permits. This is to safeguard the progress of academy players into first teams. Arsenal say they will appeal if Paulista cannot join them this month.

Next season new rules will see players who cost £10m and over automatically granted a work permit. But Wenger says all work permit regulations should be abandoned, claiming it would help produce more accomplished youngsters.

‘The target of the Premier League, to be the best League in the world,’ said Wenger. ‘So you have to open it completely.

‘We identified Di Maria when he was 17. We wanted him to come here, but he goes to Portugal, from Portugal he goes to Spain. Why? Because he could not get a work permit here. That means you can only get him to England once he is worth a huge amount of money.’

Defender Paulista is yet to make a senior appearance for the Brazilian national side

Wenger revealed he could have signed Angel di Maria nine years ago but he couldn't get a work permit

On the impact abolishing work permit rules would have on academies, Wenger said: ‘We live in a world where artificial protection is negative. If you want to be the best league in the world then you have to accept you have to produce the best players in the world.

‘So the question is, how can you produce the best players?

‘There’s two ways to approach the solution of the academies. You close completely the borders and you play only with English players. What will that do? That will kill the attractiveness of the Premier League and I think that’s not the best way to develop the best players.

‘One thing is for sure: if you put a young player with top level players he has more chance to develop. If you put him with average players he has more chances to remain average. We have to accept that. It’s the same if you have children. You put them in the top class and if they are talented they develop better than if you put them in an average class.

Wenger said, that contrary to belief, work permit rules do not help the development of English youngsters

The Gunners recently signed young Polish midfielder Krystian Bielik from Legia Warsaw

‘At the moment the whole speech is “let’s put them in an average class”. That doesn’t work for the development. So we have to say maybe “let’s put them in the top class and see how we can help them reach that level”. The politically correct speech at the moment is the opposite “let’s protect them and not expose them to world-class competition”.

‘I don’t really understand the logic of the new rule next season,’ added Wenger. ‘What does it mean if he comes into the country anyway just with a huge amount of money. That is the only difference. And who do you pay this huge amount of money to? A club like Real Madrid. They don’t need the money.’

Meanwhile, more doubt has been cast over goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny’s future at the Emirates, with Arsenal keeping tabs on Fiorentina’s Norberto Neto, who is also a target for Liverpool.