Wenger wants to win in style

Arsene Wenger insisted playing with style was as important to him as trophies as he declared ahead of the FA Cup final that Arsenal are one of only four great entertainers in the whole of Europe.

Wenger included Manchester United and Real Madrid with Arsenal in his viewing wish list, along with possibly AC Milan.

But while he might also find room for the likes of Valencia or Deportivo La Coruna on a good day, the Frenchman remains unmoved by Champions League finalists Juventus or, evidently, any other Premiership side.

“There are few teams in Europe that I would take my car and drive seven hours to watch. I must tell you Manchester United are one of those as they do play,” he revealed.

“I would do it for Arsenal and also Real Madrid. Then, there are not many left. Maybe a few in Spain and one or two in Italy. I wouldn’t do it for Juventus, for example, although maybe I would for Milan.”

In short, Wenger is determined to create the antidote to the ‘boring, boring Arsenal’ side once produced by George Graham.

For him, winning is not all that matters. It is about winning in style.

Then again, not winning at all is also on the cards if Arsenal do not raise their game against Southampton in tomorrow’s final to overcome a frightening injury list that makes Martin Keown’s fitness test fundamental to their chances.

With Sol Campbell and Pascal Cygan already ruled out, while Oleg Luzhny and Lauren are doubtful, Igors Stepanovs and Kolo Toure are on standby.

Wenger nevertheless insisted: “You can win a trophy and the fans can be bored every weekend.

“Of course, they get the consolation of the trophy. But we can still be proud of what we have given our fans over the past three years.

“Winning trophies is important but normally that is the consequence of the quality of your game. You are never happy when you finish second but I think that the best way of finishing first is to play the kind of game we play.

“Of course, trophies must be the consequence of that and this year we haven’t won the championship.

“But I still don’t neglect what the team have achieved – the kind of football we play and the number of goals we score and the records we have broken.

“We want to achieve something together and play the football we love. That must be bigger than the frustration of the last few results.”

Arsenal’s commitment to attack has also, at times, left them vulnerable at the back. Rather like Real and United, in fact, while it is Juventus who have actually reached the Champions League final instead.

They need defensive reinforcements this summer, a fact acknowledged by Wenger. “Although we scored more goals, we conceded more, so we know where we have to improve,” he said.

Having said that, Wenger admits the club can never again aspire to breaking their £12million record signing of Sylvain Wiltord in 2000 amid tight financial restrictions.

“Our biggest spending so far was £12million and that was in a year that we sold for £30million. That shows you, for us, big spending is over £10million and, no, we can’t spend big this summer,” he said.

“Can we break that record? If we win the lottery, then yes. Otherwise, at the moment, it’s not possible.”

Wenger still believes he has enough money to keep his key players, including Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires, who have only a year left on their contracts.

“Money is a necessary ingredient of success but it’s not the only one. I still feel that I have a great team,” he added.

Do they have the best team in the country though?

Wenger may not have written to congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson on his title success – “I’m not a great writer,” he said simply – but he clearly believes they are United’s equals, at least in terms of style.

“I don’t mind getting into a controversial situation with Manchester United, but I feel what bonds us is the kind of football we want to play and we leave that question for other people to judge,” he concluded.

“The FA Cup final is something that, of course, you want to win a trophy in. To be in the cup final and to be runners-up is an achievement in itself that many other clubs would want.

“We were disappointed not to win the league but the overall achievement would still be fantastic if we win the FA Cup.”