Angry Wenger Criticizes EPL's New Rule

Arsenal manager Arsene Wegner is not very happy at the moment.

The sixty year old Frenchman, who has served as the Gunners manager since 1996, is frustrated with the new rule put in place by the Premier League, forcing clubs to present a twenty five man roster, with at least eight homegrown players by September 1st.

Homegrown players are players who have been registered with a club in either England or Wales for three years prior to turning twenty one.

Arsenal currently have twenty six players listed on the first team squadon their official website and Wegner still would like to add one more defender before the season starts on August 15th immediately with a Big Four derby match at Anfield against Liverpool.

Other clubs face trouble as well. Manchester City, who are still looking at the likes of Mario Balotelli, James Milner, Landon Donovan, and Fernando Torres, currently have thirty eight first team players listed on their website who will either have to be loaned or sold.

Players not included on rosters will be unavailable for any first team action and if not loaned or sold could be sitting at home for the next five months until the winter transfer window opens.

“I think it is a disastrous decision for football and I am amazed the union accepted it,” Wenger said.

“I'm not a big fan of it because it puts many players without clubs, that is the first mathematical consequence,” Wenger said. “When you buy a player and you already have 25 players, you now have 26. You are not always capable to sell the player.”

“The money will not be an excuse for us if we do not achieve our targets,” Wenger said. “Do I have a team I think can play at the top? I say yes. At the moment, I judge that my players are ready to compete for the championship.

“Do the other clubs have more money or less money is not so important for me. What is important is do the other clubs have better players or worse players than us. At the end of August we will have the players we need to compete at the top level.”

The North London club lost four defenders this summer: Phillippe Senderos, William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, and Sol Campbell. Wegner's prime concern is in the central defense, where John Djourou, Laurent Koscielny, and Thomas Vermaelen are his only options. Wegner would prefer to have five central defenders, but he believes the new rules make that impossible at this stage. He remains confident of at least one more, however.

“There are plenty of names that we consider and we analyze,” Wenger said. “We look at the financial possibilities and the technical potential.

"We are still on the search."