City raid on Arsenal stars ‘painful’ for Wenger

ARSENE WENGER feels he was always brave to give young players a chance with Arsenal — and admits it was “painful” to see big-spending Manchester City raid his squad again last summer.

Midfielder Samir Nasri, 24, and full-back Gael Clichy, 26, followed striker Emmanuel Adebayor and centre-half Kolo Toure from Emirates Stadium to join the Blues, who have set the pace at the top of the Premier League.

After taking a chance to bring all of those players through with the Gunners, Wenger admits there will always be a sense of frustration at potential lost.