Arsene Wenger admits his attitude impacted last Premier League
Arsenal finished outside the coveted top four and missed out on Champions League football for the first time in 20 years.
Arsene Wenger personally took the blame for the Gunners’ poor performance while speaking at a Football Writers’ Association event to raise money for the Grenfell Tower fire victims.
The Arsenal boss admitted he had created a “lack of clarity” leading to a difficult atmosphere in the dressing room.
The Frenchman said: “I had an impact on the season.
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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger blamed himself for his side's poor Premier League finish last season
I created, with me not deciding, a lack of clarity in the Arsenal dressing room
Arsene Wenger
“Because at some stage the players came to see me and said, ‘what’s going on boss? Where do you go?’
“I created, with me not deciding, a lack of clarity in the dressing room and there is nothing worse than that in the dressing room.
“When you are not completely in or the players feel you are not completely in, it is difficult to tell them we go out to win.
“At some stage, I had to tell them, ‘Look guys, I am with you, but we have to win games’.”
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The Arsenal boss eventually signed a new two-year contract extension and will take charge of his side’s Premier League opener versus Leicester City on Friday night.
Wenger will be without star attacker Alexis Sanchez, who will miss the opening home match after suffering an abdominal strain in training.
The Chilean sustained the injury during a training session ahead of the Community Shield and Wenger admits he is unsure how long the 28-year-old will be out of action for.
In transfer news, Zinedine Zidane is reported to be eager to sign Sanchez, who he views as the perfect alternative to Monaco superstar Kylian Mbappe.
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Spanish publication Don Balon claim Zidane thinks Sanchez would be an excellent addition to his already stacked squad.
But Real president Florentino Perez is reluctant.
The report says Perez thinks the Arsenal attacker is too old and he would rather focus on youthful targets instead.
