Arsene Wenger has insisted he is not afraid to take a gamble in the transfer market in order to rebuild his Arsenal squad with a matter of days left before the close of the transfer window.
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The departures of Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Eboue, combined with a large number of injuries, have left the Gunners short of experience and uncharacteristically lacking in quality in recent matches.
With Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner also likely to leave, Wenger knows he is under intense pressure to bring in proven reinforcements before the end of the month, but insists he is not over-cautious when it comes to strengthening his squad.
“We are never afraid to take a gamble,” Wenger was quoted as saying by the club's official website. “But to buy a player is always a gamble anyway.
"People feel I'm stubborn, I'm not. I just want to do the best for the team and to buy the right players.
"If I have shown one thing in the last 15 years, it's that I have brought good players here.
"We will bring experienced players as well. People just say 'buy'. But it's buying the right player which is difficult.
"I look at the players and if they are good enough. What you forget is we have bought players. We have bought Gervinho, Chamberlain, Jenkinson, Miyaichi and you will see during the season they are top-quality players."
Wenger readily admitted the side he fielded in Saturday’s home defeat to Liverpool lacked experience, but paid tribute to their efforts nonetheless.
"We were a bit young against Liverpool, I agree," he said. "I agree as well we looked a bit naive in some situations.
“But we showed a great spirit and were really unlucky. I don't feel we deserved to lose the game."
Anything but overall victory in the second leg of Arsenal’s Champions League qualifying tie against Udinese on Wednesday could have dire economic and sporting consequences on the club in the long term.
There had been speculation that Wenger might choose to omit wantaway midfielder Samir Nasri in order to prevent making him being ineligible for Europe ahead of a proposed move to Manchester City.
But when asked whether he had any reservations about fielding Nasri, the Arsenal boss replied: "No. What is important to us is to qualify."
Wenger feels the current negativity surrounding his side is not ideal preparation for Wednesday’s crunch clash, but remains bullish about their chances of success.
"I feel we have a more negative environment, so it's a bit more difficult for the team,” he admitted.
"That's why the results are so important, to gain back confidence quickly. Qualifying for the Champions League is important. We will do it."
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