Wenger plays down row

[lsgworldl]

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Patrick Vieira and Lauren were involved in an incident on the team bus on Wednesday.
But he brushed aside reports of a major bust-up between the pair, insisting it was a "minor disagreement".

"It was a storm in a tea cup," Wenger said of the argument that followed Arsenal's Champions League draw against Rosenborg in Norway.

Norwegian police were called in to calm down the row on the team bus.

The argument is thought to have erupted over the defending when Rosenborg scored their 52nd-minute equaliser.

But Wenger refused to be drawn on what went on, and asked: "If I ask what was going on in a disagreement in your family do you come and say it?

It was a minor, minor, minor, minor incident

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger

"No. You have to respect what is happening inside the team and keep it inside the team.


"I feel nothing major happened. It is not the first incident after a game and I hope it is not the last.

"It shows the players care. I encourage the players to come out with their feelings. If it was personal it would be completely different. Professional matters matter to us.

"They are two good friends and their relationship is fantastic.



Lauren is a good friend of mine and we have a good relationship

Patrick Vieira

"I don't know why the police were involved. I think if we need police with that kind of problem we need the police more often!

"It was a minor, minor, minor, minor incident."

Vieira also dismissed as "rubbish" the widespread reports that he and Lauren were involved in a fight.

"There was a discussion on the coach after the match against Rosenborg on Wednesday but all these stories coming out in the media saying that myself and Lauren had a fight are rubbish," said Vieira.

"Lauren is a good friend of mine and we have a good relationship and after matches we always talk about the game between ourselves.

"We want to improve as a team, give 100% commitment and we just want to be successful - it just shows that we care about the club."

Wenger insisted he would not be taking disciplinary action against Vieira and Lauren, saying: "I don't see that the players did anything wrong disciplinary-wise.

"We want to improve and the best way is to come out and give your opinion, if you don't come out with it you can never improve.

"The disagreement was only of a professional nature and only about football, I can certify that to you."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/3706138.stm

[Will317]

I believe Wenger more than the papers, they would have had you believe this morning that the two had knives out on each other - very exaggerative, if that's a word. ;)

[7becks7]

obviously wenger wants to play down the rift, he doesn't want anybody to know that there is disaray within the club, I'm sure the media exaggerated, however I think it was more than just a minor disagreement

[Will317]

obviously wenger wants to play down the rift, he doesn't want anybody to know that there is disaray within the club, I'm sure the media exaggerated, however I think it was more than just a minor disagreement
Disarray? That's completely over the top. How can you have a club doing as well as ours just now in disarray? The idea's ridiculous. The two players involved had nothing more than a verbal argument which, as Wenger says, shows they are commited and they care.

[7becks7]

Disarray? That's completely over the top. How can you have a club doing as well as ours just now in disarray? The idea's ridiculous. The two players involved had nothing more than a verbal argument which, as Wenger says, shows they are commited and they care.

on the field, you obviously don't see any disorder, what I meant was there might be some disorder behind the scenes, perhaps "disarray" was too strong of a word to use, however players don't fight with each other because they care, that's ridiculous, and it was more than just a verbal argument, there was physical contact as well

[Will317]

on the field, you obviously don't see any disorder, what I meant was there might be some disorder behind the scenes
Disorder behind the scenes? I don't think so, you would have heard much more about it if this was the case. And surely you must have seen the great relationships and team spirit the players share on the field? You just don't get that if a club is in the situation you describe.

however players don't fight with each other because they care, that's ridiculous
Players can fight because they care about things, of course they can. Wouldn't you be worried as a manager if your players were satisfied with a mediocre draw? It would certainly give you the idea that they were only interested in the money and fame. When players show concern and frustration over below-par results it shows you they are 100% commited to the club's cause.

and it was more than just a verbal argument, there was physical contact as well
I don't know how you can say that, nobody knows for sure outside the team and staff. While it's possible as nobody has any idea, it's my pesonal belief that it would not have gone that far because of the spirit and friendships within the team, including friendship between the two players involved.

[7becks7]

Disorder behind the scenes? I don't think so, you would have heard much more about it if this was the case. And surely you must have seen the great relationships and team spirit the players share on the field? You just don't get that if a club is in the situation you describe

how would you hear about it if it happens behind the scenes ? how do you know that this isn't the first time that this happened ? maybe it was one of the reasons why vieira wanted to leave, because he has some disagreements between players, but on the field they put it behind them because they are professionals


Players can fight because they care about things, of course they can. Wouldn't you be worried as a manager if your players were satisfied with a mediocre draw? It would certainly give you the idea that they were only interested in the money and fame. When players show concern and frustration over below-par results it shows you they are 100% commited to the club's cause.

so you beat your teams ass when you don't get the right result ? I don't think fighting with your teammate shows concern to the clubs cause

I don't know how you can say that, nobody knows for sure outside the team and staff. While it's possible as nobody has any idea, it's my pesonal belief that it would not have gone that far because of the spirit and friendships within the team, including friendship between the two players involved.

you're right, nobody knows for sure, however if you fight with your teammate it shows that the relationship between the two players isn't that strong

anyway, neither me nor you know the real reason about what's happening behind the scenes, but seeing how hard wenger was denying the incident and the police's involvement makes me believe that something pretty serious happened, but the game today was a great display that arsenal doesn't bring their problems on the pitch

[Will317]

how would you hear about it if it happens behind the scenes ? how do you know that this isn't the first time that this happened ? maybe it was one of the reasons why vieira wanted to leave, because he has some disagreements between players, but on the field they put it behind them because they are professionals.
so you beat your teams ass when you don't get the right result ? I don't think fighting with your teammate shows concern to the clubs cause
you're right, nobody knows for sure, however if you fight with your teammate it shows that the relationship between the two players isn't that strong
anyway, neither me nor you know the real reason about what's happening behind the scenes, but seeing how hard wenger was denying the incident and the police's involvement makes me believe that something pretty serious happened, but the game today was a great display that arsenal doesn't bring their problems on the pitch
I think we're not seeing it from the same angle as one another, we both have opinions but that's fine. I doubt we'll ever really know what happened. All I have more to say is that the police's involvement was farcial and unnecessary, they weren't asked to get involved. Arguments happen between friends all the time and they can forgive each other, like they seem to have done today. And I think we know why Vieira was tempted to leave don't we? He was persuaded to stay by exciting future prospects at the club, if he truly wanted to go he would have done I think. The main thing I'm thinking is I'm glad they're over it and we can look forward to more football. :cool:

[7becks7]

whatever happened, arsenal seemed to have put it behind them, and arsenal look as strong as ever

[Will317]

whatever happened, arsenal seemed to have put it behind them, and arsenal look as strong as ever
I'd say, that win today was fantastic! More of the same please... :cap: