Wembley woe for Wenger
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has voiced his disappointed at the new Wembley Stadium, and believes the pitch is a huge letdown.
The Gunners visit the newly refurbished stadium following its £750 million overhaul for the first time on Saturday when they clash with London rivals Chelsea for a place in the FA Cup final.
However, Wenger has aired his concerns about both the atmosphere and pitch at the new arena.
“I loved the old Wembley, and I was not too impressed by the new Wembley," he said. "I was only there as a spectator at the first FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester United.
"Maybe I will have a completely different impression this time, I was only a spectator. I was not behind the scenes in the stadium or on the pitch.
"Historically as a boy, we always played on bad grounds, so the dream of everybody was to play on the marvellous grass and pitch of Wembley.
"When I heard they had problems with the pitch, that was a big disappointment because you always felt you wanted to play at Wembley as there was something special on the pitch there.
“If that is not there any more, then it is a little bit disappointing. I expect a good pitch, but the noises I get are not as convincing as the former pitch. The former pitch was really something special.”
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Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.