The Gunners boss is annoyed that the Spaniard will not be able to play
against the Blues this season, but will be free to play against their
other title rivals for the Red Devils
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Juan Mata’s proposed move from Chelsea to Manchester United is unfair and feels the rules of the transfer window should be adapted.
The Frenchman is annoyed that the two clubs involved in the transfer do
not have to play each other again this season, but that United will
still meet the Blues’ title challengers – Liverpool, Manchester City and
the Gunners – with Mata in their ranks.
United
have prepared a temporary helipad at Carrington as the Spaniard flies
in to complete a £37 million club record transfer on Thursday, but Wenger believes the timing is wrong.
“It opens again a little bit the opportunity of this transfer market
because Chelsea had already played twice against Man United so they
don’t play again,” he told reporters.
“They could have sold him last week but it opens at least the opportunity [to question] the dates of this transfer window.
“Some
teams have already played twice against one opponent and some others
not. I think if you want to respect the fairness for everybody exactly
the same, that should not happen.
“I just think you would want
that everybody is on the same level. Chelsea do not make the rules but
maybe the rules should be a bit more adapted to more fairness.”
Wenger, who sold Robin van Persie to Manchester United in 2012, is puzzled by the Mata move.
“I am surprised because Juan Mata is a great player and Chelsea sell a great player to a direct opponent,” he continued.
Wenger
also backed David Moyes to ride out United’s rough patch, after the
club were knocked out of the Capital One Cup semi-finals by Sunderland
on Thursday.
“You have to survive massive disappointments and keep your belief
high in what you do because to win is easy for everybody,” he added.
“How to live with defeat, that is what managers are about, and David
Moyes is strong enough. For me he deals with the situation very well.
“They go through a difficult moment in their season but they can
still come back. They are in a strong position in the Champions League
and they just bought a great player, so Man United has still to be
considered a threat.”
