Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he won’t be buying players this summer based on their performances at Euro 2016.
Wenger will attend the competition in his native France as a television pundit, but declared that he won’t be making snap judgements on any players that excel at the tournament.
Wenger told the club’s official website: “No, I wouldn’t. Unless I’ve known him before, go to the tournament and see him. You have two kinds of people at these tournaments – some have played 60 games during the season, and some have played 15, maybe due to injuries. You have to be very cautious with that.
“We analyse every game in Europe now. We spoke about 1984, then you discovered players that had big tournaments. But that has gone now. It’s difficult to find surprise players because of the strength of scouting. It’s equally hard to forecast who could be a star. Sometimes it can be a guy who has less than 60 games in his legs. At past tournaments we’ve had many surprises.”
Arsenal have already made one new signing ahead of next season, with the club securing a deal for Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka, who had an average pass accuracy of 85% in the Bundesliga this campaign. The Gunners also activated the release clause in Jamie Vardy’s contract but face an anxious wait to see whether the Leicester City striker will join them.
Although they finished second in the table, the 2015/16 campaign was ultimately very frustrating for Arsenal, with the Gunners failing to win a trophy.
It is clear that Arsenal’s squad needs strengthening if the club are to stand a chance of winning the title next season, while there could also be some departures this summer, with several players having been linked with moves away.
Wenger, the longest serving current manager in European football, is set to enter the final year of his contract with the Gunners and how his side fares next campaign is likely to dictate whether he will continue in the job beyond that.
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