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Wenger: Transfer frustration

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has pinpointed the UEFA Champions League victory over Milan as the moment when other clubs began to target his players.

The Gunners upset the odds to eliminate then European champions Milan with a 2-0 last 16 victory at the San Siro in March.

And Wenger, who saw Arsenal go on to stretch a three-year run without silverware, believes the victory in Italy was to blame for his side's downturn in fortunes as other clubs began to eye his Emirates Stadium stars.

Mathieu Flamini will play for Milan next season after agreeing a free transfer, while the same club are also interested in striker Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb is understood to be unsettled.

Credit

And Wenger is in doubt as to the cause, telling the official Arsenal magazine: "That game in Milan did us a lot of good, but also some bad.

"Overall it was a convincing team performance and we gained a lot of credit all over the world through that game - but also maybe at that time a lot of clubs became interested in our players. This game for me unsettled our season.

"Many clubs do not work as well as we do, and do not give a chance to young players so they looked at the quality of the team display in that game, and it attracted a lot of keen clubs.

"Others teams and agents started to look at our players, releasing stories into the press, and it had a disturbing influence on us.

Learning process

"From then on there were always stories about better contracts on offer elsewhere and it could be said that it really disturbed us inside the dressing room, but I think the team has learned to cope with it."

But Wenger feels his young squad will benefit from the experiences of last season.

"The psychological side is part of the learning process," Wenger added.

"This is a young side, at the start of a cycle, and they have had to learn from all types of pressures - from the environment, from the press, from the games, and they will be stronger next year."