Arsene Wenger reveals he will target tall players in the summer & insists Arsenal are ‘close’ to winning the Premier League

After six trophyless years at the Emirates, the Frenchman says he will look to sign taller players in an attempt to win silverware, but insists he will not change his philosophy

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that he will be looking at tall players to improve his squad over the summer.

The Gunners conceded 43 goals in the Premier League last season, and Wenger believes the height of his squad must be improved if they are to mount a serious challenge for the title next season.

This comes after the Gunners boss also admitted he must spend this summer after a disappointing end to the season, finishing fourth in the table and being knocked out of the Champions League by eventual winners Barcelona.

Wenger told reporters: "We need to improve the size of our squad. We need a bigger variety in the height of our players.
"We need to be more capable of fighting against some characteristics than we have been this season."

Despite faltering in their title challenge and eventually finishing below Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City, Wenger insists his side are "close" to winning the Premier League.

"We get it 95% right, but we must gain that 5% because it's so frustrating to flirt with success like we have done, and the fans are unhappy that we didn't win the league, but we are close," he said.

"In 2003 we were also the best away team, but didn't win. We kept going and in 2004 we were very strong."

The Frenchman says he can understand the fans' frustrations after failing to win silverware for a sixth consecutive season.

"The criticism has been sharper this year because of the impatience of people," he said. "People are used to us being in the Champions League so we have to give them more, but we're not capable of doing that.

"People love what we do but they want us to be rewarded so they can be convinced we do things the right way.

"For our fans the frustration was that we were so close to convincing everybody of how football can be great, but in the end not being able to deliver."

The Frenchman has recently been linked with 6ft 3in Lens centre-back Raphael Varane, who would become Arsenal's tallest outfield player over Sebastien Squillaci and Abou Diaby if he joined the club.
Our  provides the best breaking news online and our  football fan community is unmatched worldwide. Never miss a thing again!