Wenger: Threatening to execute players is not the way to win

Daniel Storey

Arsene Wenger has rejected the idea that his Arsenal players do not have the passion of yesteryear, believing that there are other ways to win matches.

Wenger was responding to comments from Lee Dixon, who this week said his Arsenal teammates had pinned him against a wall before his first north London derby, to hammer home the importance of the match.

However, Wenger believes that those strategies are not required to motivate players of a game’s importance.

“Lee Dixon is a passionate guy, so in his response he is passionate as well,” Wenger said.

“I think if that was the only way to feel football games, you would say, ‘If you don’t win the game, you are killed after it. You are executed.’

“That shows you that putting people up against the wall is not the only way. That’s why it’s so difficult to win a game.

“It’s a mixture between urgency and confidence, relaxed and tense, and that is different for every individual. Different for every team as well.”

Still, we’d bloody love to see Nacho Monreal with Sead Kolasinac up against a wall, spitting out his words of encouragement.