Wenger: We're strong enough

Arsenal boss Wenger: We are strong enough

Arsene Wenger says he is confident in his young squad and that he does not have to seek a replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor, who joined Manchester City on Saturday night.

Adebayor's £25m departure for Manchester City has been welcomed by Arsenal fans disgruntled by what they perceived to be his lack of commitment last season. But they may be less than impressed by Wenger's reluctance to spend the transfer fee to plug the gap.

Adebayor is the latest high-profile player to exit the Emirates Stadium, following on the heels of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, Alexander Hleb and Mathieu Flamini.

Wenger, however, believes the club will recover once again and already possesses a squad strong enough to compete next season.

"We must trust the players we have. It's a very important season for us and I believe we are in a very strong position," he said. "Big clubs lose big players. AC Milan have lost Kaka but will go on. Arsenal have lost big players before but we go on.

"We have also had positive messages - players like Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas are staying here.

"I believe we have a strong enough squad to meet the targets we have."

Meanwhile, Wenger admits that at one stage during Tomas Rosicky's rehabilitation he feared the Arsenal midfielder's career was over.

Hamstring and knee injuries sidelined Rosicky for 18 months with his appearance in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Barnet his first since January 2008.

Wenger is confident the Czech international will still be the same player and hopes he could be available for the Premier League opener against Everton on August 15.

"There was a time when I was worried Tomas wouldn't play football again and he felt the same," said Wenger. "But he had always led a healthy and dedicated life. Mentally he's also very strong.

"Of course you have to ask and hope if he will ever get back to where we want him to be and the answer looks like yes. We have to manage him well and prepare him well. If we comes through pre-season well he could start the season."

Oh crap, Wenger we do require his replacement.

Don't doom one more season, with this stubbornness.

If we don't get at least a defensive midfielder this season is in danger of being compromised, worrying times ahead.

DM is a must, if we don't then our future is bleak.

Former Arsenal manager George Graham has criticised Arsene Wenger's attitude towards the recent sale of Emmanuel Adabayor and accused the Frenchman of giving up on the striker too soon.

Over the weekend Wenger claimed that Adebayor had been driven away from the club by the lingering resentment fans felt towards him after his dalliance with AC Milan last summer,

But Graham, who managed the side for nine years between 1986-95, believes Wenger did not do enough to support Adebayor in his attempts to rebuild his confidence and his relationship with the fans.

Confused by Wenger's comments, Graham told the Mirror: "Arsene says Adebayor is a great footballer so why is he selling him? That's really surprising.

"If he's disruptive in the dressing room and he does not get on with the other players and he's adamant he wants to leave then Arsene had a big problem. But problems like that are part and parcel of being a manager.

"If you have a great player and are having a problem with him you have to get into his head until it suits you.

"Alex Ferguson is a past master of getting around players and getting an extra year or two out of them before letting them go."

Arsenal have won three Premier League title under Wenger and despite a series of frustrating injuries last season the club remains in the top four, but Graham fears that with the likes of Adebayor walking out the door and no immediate replacement coming in, they will struggle make much of an impression next season.

"If you look at Arsenal's forward line they have players of the quality of Van Persie, Walcott and Eduardo - but they have had injury problems," he added. "They have Nicklaus Bendtner as well but that does not looks to me as if they are going to be challenging for the title this season."

The only name to have been linked with a move to the Emirates since the Togo international's departure is Bordeaux's 25-year-old striker Marouane Chamakh, but the latest reports coming out of France suggest the Morocco international may end up elsewhere with Tottenham, Sunderland and Blackburn interested.