I was wrong not to buy, says Wenger

ARSENE WENGER yesterday admitted he was "wrong" not to bring in some more experienced players this season - but declared Arsenal's future was in safe hands.

The Gunners go into today's FA Cup quarter-final tie at Bolton chasing the final trophy available to them after their disappointing midweek Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, and hopes of a successful defence of their Barclays Premiership title all but over.

The Arsenal manager had some money to spend, both in the summer and during the January transfer window.

However, elected instead to stick with the backbone of the team which swept all before them during the last campaign and went on a record unbeaten run of 49 Premiership matches.

However, following the end of that amazing sequence back in October at Old Trafford, the Gunners have failed to match those high standards.

While Wenger accepted responsibility for not strengthening his squad when he had the chance, the Frenchman maintains he could never have predicted the loss of key defender Sol Campbell to injury or how Brazilian midfielder Edu would eventually commit himself to the Highbury cause, only to then also be sidelined. Wenger insisted the emergence of such talent of Philippe Senderos, Cesc Fabregas and Quincy Owusu Abeyie will have made this campaign worthwhile. "You can only now say I was wrong," reflected the Arsenal manager.

"The facts are there, that we lost the championship and didn't win the European Cup - we cannot say we were right."

However, Wenger insisted: "But it was very difficult to predict that Sol Campbell would be out until towards the end of the season because I didn't think of that, and that Edu would not be available. I could have thought that, but if Edu had gone, I would have bought somebody."

And the Arsenal manager said: "I feel the positive part of our season is that we have found some good young players who can be important for us in the next years.