Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has denied that he lied about Danny Welbeck’s injury, specifically the timing of how long he would be sidelined for.
The Gunners announced last week that Welbeck would require surgery for an on-going knee problem and that he would need a few months to recover.
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The club’s statement on the matter made clear that they knew the extent of the setback before the transfer deadline had passed, which in itself infuriated supporters due to Wenger’s lack of movement in the market.
Nevertheless, Wenger remained defiant on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s clash with Stoke and insisted that he had nothing more to say on the summer transfer window and is happy with the attacking options at his disposal.
“First of all I am surprised that people accused me of lying when I was in the press conference on Friday morning [August 28]. I did not know Welbeck had a bad setback. I did not lie to you, I gave you the information I had,” he told the assembled media.
“I heard late on Friday night that his condition had not evolved as well as we thought it was and he had needed specialist and needed further investigation. Apart from that, if we did not find someone [to sign], we did not find them.”
“I have nothing more to say.
“I’ve made over 300 transfers, and every time it’s a decision to make. You buy a player because he strengthens your squad or not, and the solutions we had were not convincing at all.”
Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker are expected to give Wenger a huge fitness boost this weekend, although Jack Wilshere has reportedly suffered a setback in his bid to recover from a fractured fibula.
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