Wenger claims Arsenal are in ‘good shape’ despite terrible start

Joe Williams
Arsene Wenger Arsenal

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger thinks the Gunners are in “good shape” despite their terrible start to the new Premier League season.

The north London club have lost all three of their opening Premier League fixtures this season and have failed to score a single goal in the process.

They did manage to hammer West Brom 6-0 in the Carabao Cup in between but it has been all doom and gloom so far this season at the Emirates Stadium.


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Arsenal spent £147m on new signings this summer with Nuno Tavares, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Ben White, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu.

The transfers have failed to excite the Gunners fanbase, especially after their losses to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City.

However, Arsenal legend Wenger thinks it is a team with “potential” and reckons they could still have a successful season.

“Today the club is in good shape,” Wenger told BILD LIVE on Friday. “They had two tough games [against Chelsea and Manchester City], the team has potential and I hope they can come back.”

When asked about the possibility of him returning to the Emirates to help with their current demise, Wenger added: “I’m 71. I’ve given this club the best years of my life. At the moment I’m just a fan.”

Arsenal beat Brentford 4-0 in a behind-closed-doors friendly at London Colney on Thursday with Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes featuring.

Asked if it was a valuable experience, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told the club’s official website: “Yes we had the possibility to play Brentford again and we had quite a lot of players who needed some minutes, some of them coming back from injuries, some of them after Covid, so it was a good test and a good work-out.”

On White and Gabriel featuring, Arteta added: “Yeah, really good. We don’t have any big injuries as well, they have the minutes, we could work on some things, so it was a good idea to play the game.”

On whether his squad is in good shape ahead of their match against Norwich City, Arteta continued: “Well let’s see because things change every day so hopefully we will get three or four back that we miss a lot in the last few weeks, and hopefully we don’t lose anyone on the internationals.”