Wenger: I knew the last five years would be difficult for Arsenal

Arsene Wenger insists he always knew that the period following Arsenal’s move to Emirates Stadium would be a “very difficult” spell for the club.

The pressure has been mounting on the Gunners boss in recent seasons following the north London club’s failure to win a trophy, with their last success coming in the FA Cup back in 2005.

Much has been made about Arsenal’s lack of spending in the transfer market in recent years, before the north London club smashed their record fee to land Mesut Ozil in a £42.5m deal from Real Madrid earlier this month.

And the Frenchman, who has led Arsenal to three Premier League titles since taking over at the club back in 1996, is feeling increasingly optimistic about the season ahead, with the Gunners currently top of the table ahead of Saturday’s trip to Swansea.

“These are very exciting times,” said Wenger.

“I knew that the sensitive period would be after 2007 to 2012. We had to manage the club very seriously without dropping off the top level.

“I knew that would be a very difficult period and a very important one – maybe the most important one of the recent history of the club. But now we are in a more comfortable position.

“I still think that we need to continue to manage the club financially in a very serious way. That is very important. But, as well, we have more resources than we had before.”