Wenger slams the ‘mockery’ of international football
Arsene Wenger has never been a great fans of international football matches, especially ‘meaningless friendlies’. It always seems to end with one or two Arsenal players coming back with injuries and Wenger certainly does not approach these games with ‘joy’.
“It is certainly not a joy for me but hopefully it is not a pain because I hope the players will come back in good spirits,” he said.
“But it could be a pain if we lose some players through injury.
“I don’t believe it will upset our rhythm. It’s always a challenge to get the focus back quickly when players come from international games but let’s hope we can sort that out.”
He even goes further in his criticism of the ‘lack of quality’ in some of the games which is driving away supporters from internationals in general.
He said: “The lack of quality in some games has been wiped out by the national pride of people supporting their countries. But in the longer run, that doesn’t work.
“People want quality, and we saw some games in the last round of internationals – Bulgaria v Wales for example – there were just 1,000 people there. That makes a mockery of international football. So we have to look at that quickly, because it creates a new problem.
“I think it will get worse and worse because we are facing an economic crisis too. That will have direct consequences for the attendances. It’s more and more difficult to sell out games – even in a big country like France. Not one home game there was a sell-out. Not one.
“That shows you that there’s something happening that is a deeper problem.”
I know exactly what he means, I personally hate the way the interlull breaks up the season to see unequal games like Spain v Andorra. Why don’t they have two (or three) tiers of international football, like the Champions League and the Europa League. This would mean more equal games and give the lesser countries the chance to actually win a few games?
Trackback: trackback from your own site.
COMMENTS GUIDELINES: ANY COMMENTS WITH SWEARING OR PERSONAL ABUSE WILL BE DELETED WITHOUT EXCEPTION: PLEASE DISCUSS THE SUBJECT IN A FREINDLY AND OBJECTIVE MANNER. SERIAL ABUSERS WILL BE BANNED. PLEASE BE NICE TO YOUR FELLOW GOONERS!
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
1 
17
Hidden due to low comment rating. Click here to see.
Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
0 
15
We all know its a pain in the butt for wenger but also the joy of the playes to cap for their nations.lets just hope the arsenal players come back happy and most importantly injury free.
Rate this comment:
4 
0
It’s good experience for them. Injuries are just one of those things…unfortunately Arsenal have been on the short end of the injury stick. Hopefully our boys playing international will try their best to avoid any serious physical confrontation while playing in a friendly. Some players get injured because they play stupid, in that I mean they are oblivious to what is actually happening around them. They need to be extra sharp and ready for anything.
Rate this comment:
2 
0
I’m not fusseed about this international break. it will give Arteta a break, Chamakh, Rosicky, Benayoun and Park will get some match time. The squad should be able to keep the ball rolling after the international break, but please please please don’t let any gooners get injured. If RVP breaks his leg I think we will struggle this season.
Rate this comment:
0 
0
i see Barca’s Messi playing all the games for club and country year after year and i’ve never heard the burnout myth about him yet our players like RVP need to be rested after playing a quarter of a season to avoid a burnout.
Rate this comment:
3 
1