Arsene Wenger has questioned Manchester United’s
decision to sign Anthony Martial and believes there was a
lack of high-quality players available in the summer transfer
market.
Martial became the world’s most expensive teenager after
joining United from Monaco on deadline day in a deal that
could eventually be worth up to €80 million (£59m).
The 19-year-old forward has made only 52 appearances in
Ligue 1 since making his debut for Lyon in 2013 and the
Arsenal manager, whose only major summer signing was
Petr Cech, suggested United’s hand has been forced
because of the limited options available.
“I’ve heard Martial scored 11 goals in the French
championship - that sums it all up well,” Wenger told beIN
Sports.
“That means it’s not the money that’s missing at the
moment, it’s not the desire of investment that’s missing, it’s
the number of players available who can strengthen the big
clubs.
“So am I happy with the investment I make? Yes. Every
time, I bought [Alexis] Sanchez, I bought [Mesut] Ozil, I
bought Cech, I bought Gabriel last year, [Mathieu] Debuchy -
when you find the players you invest the money.
“The problem at the moment is to find the players that
guarantee that you are a better team after.
“Martial is a huge talent, he’s 19 years old, the investment
is absolutely huge as well, that shows you that there’s not
many players in the world who can strengthen these
teams.”
Wenger has also accused Uefa of softening their Financial
Fair Play rules this year and believes the regulations need to
be made clearer.
“I’m disappointed... to change the verdict [of Financial Fair
Play] during the transfer period I think was not right,” he
said.
“I’m not against Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain
buying players but you would like rules to be known before
the transfer period starts and the rules have been a bit
accommodating during the transfer period.
“After that, if I ask you, or you ask me, ‘what is the real
significance today of Financial Fair Play?’ I cannot give you
the answer. I’m sure you will not be completely capable to
do it as well.
“So Financial Fair Play today is too complicated to be
efficient, and too complicated for everybody to understand,
exactly, the rules, and that’s why there’s a need to simplify
the whole process.”
When asked if clubs such as Arsenal were being penalised,
he added: “No, not being penalised, but I think well-run clubs
just should be a normality.
“Every club should use the resources it produces and what
is at the end of the day, the size of the club, a big club, a
small club - the big club should be the club with the biggest
fanbase and that works the best in its decisions.”
