Wenger pays tribute to ‘exceptional’ players

Arsene Wenger last night paid tribute to the character and spirit shown by his Arsenal players as they continued the remarkable sequence of consecutive Champions League appearances.

Arsenal embark on a 16th successive campaign in European football’s premier competition when they take their place in the qualifying round in August, courtesy of victory at Newcastle sealed by the only goal of the contest, scored by Laurent Koscielny early in the second half.

The Gunners trailed Tottenham by seven points after defeat in the North London derby in March, but edged out their neighbours on the final day thanks to a stunning run of eight victories in their final 10 league games, all unbeaten.

“I’m proud of the character and spirit shown by the players,” the manager said. “They’ve coped with all we’ve had to deal with in the season. These players are special and I’ve told them that many times but they showed it — in the last two months they have been exceptional.

“We’ve provided a good base for the longer term, to go into next season on such a strong run and I’m very proud because we were very far behind Tottenham after the defeat there. Everyone ruled us out but we showed character and attitude to come back. We’ve finished with 73 points, and that’s three points better than last season.”

A relieved Wenger pointed to the second-leg Champions League victory over Bayern Munich in the aggregate defeat to the Germans as a major turning point late in the campaign, and he added: “We had problems believing we could win the big games, but victory in that changed everything. The focus and desire in this team was exceptional, it’s one of the best groups I’ve had in my life on that front.

“We want to win silverware next season, but let’s not forget the consistency we have shown over the years to again be in the Champions League knowing everyone is desperate to get in there.” .”

The Frenchman was typically cryptic when it came to his summer spending plans, adding “Will I spend big? It depends on what you call big. Is it spending big, or buying many players? We want to have additions to the squad but to keep the structure, spirit and quality of the team we have now. Let’s not forget there are many clubs with big money. We will be out there in a proactive way.”