Wenger says 'tapping' has happened before
Arsene Wenger has revealed Ashley Cole is not the first Arsenal player to be allegedly "tapped up" by another club – and will almost certainly not be the last.
However, despite renewed doubts over the future of Jose Antonio Reyes as well as Cole, he insisted he would not allow the current Arsenal squad to be broken up.
Asked about the allegations that Cole was illegally approached, Wenger claimed: “It’s not the first time, I can tell you that!
“I am naïve but not naïve enough to think it hasn’t happened before, but the players are still here.”
The Arsenal boss, who was not accusing Chelsea of "tapping up" Cole in the past, has previously lost Nicolas Anelka to Real Madrid amid similar claims of an illegal approach.
However, he has kept hold of Vieira, who has now also been linked with the Spanish club for several consecutive summers.
Wenger, whose side face Crystal Palace on Monday night, added: “We know that we can’t financially compete with Chelsea. If they want to financially destabilise the players, they can say six when we say five.
“If we say six, they can say seven and we have to stop at some point. That’s always the case when someone has five times more money than you.
“But I feel most of our players, even Ashley Cole, are committed and well paid enough here to have a great career and a great life. Chelsea can also only play 11 players.”
Wenger realises that, with the title slipping away from the Gunners, some pundits are predicting some of his squad will leave Highbury.
“That’s what some people hope but it will not happen,” he declared defiantly. “What we share here is much stronger than all these stories. Of course, it’s a bit more difficult now but this is a good opportunity to show how strong we are inside the club.
“You have to accept that, when you produce big players, they will be tapped up by other clubs who want to destabilise you because they are scared of what you are creating and want to get big players too.
“But we have the protection of the contracts of the players and the loyalty they have. Thierry and Patrick have been here for six and eight years respectively, they have shown their commitment many times. We have more problems with the players who want to join us than those who want to leave us.
“If you look at our record with players, many said when they left that it was the biggest mistake they made.
“Most of the players have respected their contracts here and wanted to be part of us as long as they could. Every year, we must organise a testimonial.
“We have more loyalty than people think and loyalty still exists in the game.”
While Wenger believes Cole will sign a new contract despite Chelsea’s alleged interest in taking him to Stamford Bridge this summer, he is also hopeful that he can keep Reyes.
The Spain international is clearly unsettled in London, having admitted to a radio hoaxer that he would like to move to Real.
But Wenger insisted: “A boy of 21 has the right to have a dream club in his country. We all have one. I have one in France as I didn’t even know that Arsenal existed when I was seven.
“It’s going a bit less well for him now and he is struggling to cope a bit. You can catch everyone on a down when they could say things like that.
“But although the Reyes story is a disturbance, it doesn’t change my philosophy about how to play football and how the club should be run.”
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