Football

'Better than the Invincibles'

ARSENE WENGER

Arsene Wenger has claimed his current Arsenal attack is even more potent than the one his famous 'Invincibles' team of 2003-04 boasted.

The Gunners demonstrated their strength in depth up front in the FA Cup at the weekend by cruising into the last 16 courtesy of a 5-0 win away to Southampton.

Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott combined for the goals as star men Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were rested, with the Chilean only appearing as a second-half substitute and the German left out of the squad entirely.

When fit, Wenger also has Lucas Perez, Olivier Giroud, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey available to play as part of his front four.

The Invincibles, who won the Premier League title without losing a match, were spearheaded by Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, with Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg providing support from out wide.

In reserve, the French manager had the likes of Sylvain Wiltord, Nwankwo Kanu and Jose Antonio Reyes at his disposal - but Wenger plumped for his current group.

"I think certainly numbers wise and quality wise, this is the best attacking unit," Wenger told reporters. "We had never so many players who could perform and score goals – certainly never.

"Bergkamp, Henry... and [Robin] van Persie [came] behind them. Wiltord, Pires, it was not bad. They had the quality, but [we have] the large number [now]."

He added: "How I do manage them? That is a good question and I don't know, in fact. It is about making the decision for the next game that you think is the right one.

"Sometimes you consider the problem you face, sometimes you consider the fitness of the players, the fact that, for example, they have played three days before - have they recovered or not?

"You just try to be honest in your decision and keep everybody on board."

Wenger admitted that it is not only the visibly emotional Sanchez that is disappointed when left out of the team or substituted.

“They all get annoyed," he said. "They have a different way to show it. The other nine show a little bit differently the way that they are unhappy, but they are."

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'Better than the Invincibles'

ARSENE WENGER

Arsene Wenger has claimed his current Arsenal attack is even more potent than the one his famous 'Invincibles' team of 2003-04 boasted.

The Gunners demonstrated their strength in depth up front in the FA Cup at the weekend by cruising into the last 16 courtesy of a 5-0 win away to Southampton.

Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott combined for the goals as star men Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil were rested, with the Chilean only appearing as a second-half substitute and the German left out of the squad entirely.

When fit, Wenger also has Lucas Perez, Olivier Giroud, Alex Iwobi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey available to play as part of his front four.

The Invincibles, who won the Premier League title without losing a match, were spearheaded by Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, with Robert Pires and Fredrik Ljungberg providing support from out wide.

In reserve, the French manager had the likes of Sylvain Wiltord, Nwankwo Kanu and Jose Antonio Reyes at his disposal - but Wenger plumped for his current group.

"I think certainly numbers wise and quality wise, this is the best attacking unit," Wenger told reporters. "We had never so many players who could perform and score goals – certainly never.

"Bergkamp, Henry... and [Robin] van Persie [came] behind them. Wiltord, Pires, it was not bad. They had the quality, but [we have] the large number [now]."

He added: "How I do manage them? That is a good question and I don't know, in fact. It is about making the decision for the next game that you think is the right one.

"Sometimes you consider the problem you face, sometimes you consider the fitness of the players, the fact that, for example, they have played three days before - have they recovered or not?

"You just try to be honest in your decision and keep everybody on board."

Wenger admitted that it is not only the visibly emotional Sanchez that is disappointed when left out of the team or substituted.

“They all get annoyed," he said. "They have a different way to show it. The other nine show a little bit differently the way that they are unhappy, but they are."

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