Arsene Wenger is adamant Chelsea will not be relegated this season and says they are not in a relegation battle.
The Arsenal boss was quizzed on the struggles currently engulfing Stamford Bridge which has seen the Blues lose nine of the first 16 games and put them hovering above the drop zone in 16th place.
Wenger and Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho are far from best friends due to a series of feuds between the pair, largely stemming from the Portuguese’s infamous ‘specialist in failure’ jibe at the Frenchman.
That Wenger is even being asked these questions shows the remarkable situation Chelsea find themselves in, but he said the chances of Chelsea being relegated are non-existent.
No [Chelsea are not in a relegation battle].
Yes [they will pull away from the bottom].
The quality of their team [and the manager] as well [gives me that belief]. If you ask me objectively whether Chelsea will go down I say “no chance”. They are going through a difficult spell but they are not in a relegation battle.
Regarding matters closer to home, Wenger says he will be looking to make a move in the upcoming transfer window.
The midfield and attacking department are likely to be his priority seeing as those are the areas most depleted.
We are open-minded. We are not the only ones who can decide about the speed of the transfers because we have to adapt to the availabilities and the speed of negotiations and the willingness of clubs to sell.
We are open to do something because we are short.
As ever, Wenger was happy to discuss every topic thrown at him and on the news that Tottenham Hotspur have been granted permission to build their new stadium with a capacity of roughly 500 more seats than the Emirates, Wenger gave a typically witty response.
Yes, are you surprised? We will try [to put in more seats at the Emirates]!
