Wenger has been talking about AOC, and how despite having a good game against Milan, there are still many things he needs to improve upon:
This is the right thing to do, because you expect the manager to set high standards for our young players and not to get carried away after a few good performances, to ensure that their feet remain on the ground. However, why didn't Wenger apply the same rigorous standards to mediocre young players like Denilson, Bendtner, Vela etc? They never reached the level of performance of AOC, and yet Wenger kept playing them in the first team, never publicly demanding more from them.“He had a good game but he still has many things to add to his game. That is the purpose now for his work, especially the fitness, the physical intensity to add to his game. That will certainly come if he works hard.
“You are not a star after five or 10 games, let's let him play 100 times and then we will talk again.”
AOC has been criticised by Wenger for his fitness and physical intensity, and while that may be true and something to work on, no one can fault his commitment to the cause. Against Milan, despite carrying an injury, he was still tracking back, following runners and trying to block crosses when necessary. He was playing with the most maturity, a lot of the time being the deepest lying midfielder in the first half despite being an attacking minded player.
The aforementioned failures like Bendtner never showed the commitment levels of AOC, and yet Wenger persevered with them despite them showing no signs of improvement. Why didn't Wenger use the same standards then? Perhaps we'd have got rid of Bendtner, Diaby, Denilson, Vela, Eboue much earlier then, and had the chance to rebuild earlier.
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Originally Posted by Fist of Lehmann
