Arsene Wenger must sell before he can buy as he admits Arsenal 'have too many players'
Wenger has not ruled out more signings before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, but his immediate priority is to move out unwanted players
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Arsene Wenger admits he must sell before he can buy at Arsenal.
The Gunners have only added two players this summer - Sead Kolasinac and Alexandre Lacazette - and their shortcomings, particularly defensively, were exposed as they lost 1-0 at Stoke on Saturday evening.
Wenger has not ruled out more signings before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, but his immediate priority is to move out unwanted players rather than add new ones.
"I expect to sell players first," he said. "We have too many players. It is not manageable. Many clubs are in this situation - that is why the transfer market is quiet. We have 33 players at the moment. We have too many players."
Regarding arrivals, Wenger said he could not get into "transfer mode" in the immediate aftermath of the loss at the bet365 Stadium.
Arsenal outplayed Stoke for long spells and were aggrieved not to gain at least a point after a strong penalty appeal was rejected and a goal disallowed. They spurned a host of other chances.
Hector Bellerin felt he should have been awarded the spot-kick after being brought down by Mame Biram Diouf in the first half. Jese Rodriguez compounded their frustration by scoring a superb debut goal for the Potters early in the second period.
Arsenal finished strongly with Alexandre Lacazette rifling home a fierce shot but he was ruled marginally offside.
Wenger conceded his side, who despite their dominance were vulnerable to counter-attacks, were caught out, but dismissed the general criticism of the defence that has grown since last week's frantic 4-3 win over Leicester.
"Last week we conceded two goals on corners and they only had three shots on goal, so I don't believe we defended so badly," he said. "On set-pieces, yes. But here I say we could look at ourselves and, on the goal we conceded, we were 100 per cent guilty."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments