Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger BLASTS Premier League schedulers

ARSENE WENGER has attacked the Premier League for rushing ahead without the world's very best players, accusing them of laying out a fixture calendar that makes "no sense".

Arsene Wenger on the touchlinesMany of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side played at the World Cup earlier this summer[GETTY]

Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker will miss today's visit of Crystal Palace having lifted the World Cup with Germany in Rio just 34 days earlier.

FIFA regulations insist on a four-week break and Wenger believes his stars need a proper pre-season before being in contention to play later in the month.

"The Germans are not ready yet, they continue their preparation and the earliest they could be considered again is Everton," he said.

"Honestly, we are a bit short in our preparation because after the World Cup, we had 11 players at the World Cup and many of them had longer holidays after that.

"The final of the World Cup was on July 13, the start of the Premier League is August 16. In FIFA rules you have to give four weeks holiday to the players.

"We could have done with one week later for all the competitions, the Champions League and the Premier League. It makes no sense to start so early."

Arsenal v Crystal Palace - Premier League Preview

Some teams have ridden roughshod over the regulations to rush players back for the start of the new season - with disastrous consequences.

"You have Thiago Silva and David Luiz who came back a bit earlier and played straight away," said Wenger. "Silva is out for a month, Luiz is injured as well. If you don't give players enough holiday or enough build-up in their preparation and play them straight away then they get injured.

"I hope it doesn't put our start in jeopardy. I am focusing mainly on the players not at the World Cup. I have a few, so they are ready. They have had a normal start and are prepared."

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