Arsene Wenger has offered a glimpse into Arsenal’s recruitment strategy, explaining how the club go about finding and signing players in such a competitive market.
The Gunners have added two new faces this summer, Sead Kolasinac on a free transfer from Schalke and prolific frontman Alexandre Lacazette, who joined for £50 million from Lyon.
Wenger says the club have a wealth of data to call on when appraising players, as well as scouts stationed across the globe, though even that cannot guarantee every signing will be a hit.
‘The success of our job is to get the right people in, as it is in any company,’ Wenger is quoted on Arsenal’s official website. ‘The first three steps are scouting, getting the right people in.
‘Secondly giving them the right coaching programme that develops them well and finally integrating them into a competitive team that is destined to win football games. If you get the first one wrong you go nowhere.’
He continued: ‘We have scouts all over the world, we have analytics and video scouting as well – we have analysts watching games all over the world every weekend and you can see on computer how any player in the world is doing.
‘It doesn’t make the decision easier because you still need to choose players who can integrate and suit our team.’
Wenger came under increasing pressure from fans to step aside as manager of Arsenal, before eventually signing a contract extension, and says he tries to ignore others’ opinions.
He explained: ‘You have to do what you believe in. That is one of my strengths, and I’m experienced enough today to take a distance with opinions.
‘When people say I’m the greatest I’m lucid enough to know that’s not true, and when people say I’m the worst I’m experienced enough to know that’s not true either.
‘I have a fair assessment of what I’m doing, and what I’m doing right or wrong. It doesn’t mean I don’t doubt, don’t question myself, but I don’t give the credit to other people’s opinions as much as I did, say, 20 years ago.’
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