It Takes Ten Games To Discern A Premier League Trend - Arsenal Boss Wenger

Aug 22, 2009 12:43:41 AM

Don't get carried away after a couple of matches, argues Le Boss, becasuse the trends you can trust only emerge after about ten Premier League games...

Arsene Wenger shared with journalists at his Friday pre-match press conference his view that no meaningful trend appears in the Premier League until after the first 10 games have been played.

Earlier in the week, the Arsenal manager's Liverpool counterpart, Rafael Benitez, said it was far too early to make any assumptions about how the Premier League season would pan out after just one or two matches.

Wenger totally agrees.

Arsenal swept Everton imperiously out of their path and then went to Glasgow and beat Celtic in a Champions League qualifier, while Manchester United earned a narrow home win over Birmingham before losing at Burnley, and Liverpool stumbled at Tottenham on opening day then rallied to thump Stoke.

Wenger, though, feels it is rash to make any assumptions until around the start of November.

"Benitez is right, it is too early because you do not see the first trend until after 10 games," the manager was quoted as saying on the official Arsenal website.

"I agree completely with Benitez that it is far too early to speak about anything which will happen in this Premier League.

"We will have had some tough games by then, so that is why now we have our feet on the ground."

Although Wenger does not read too much into the early-season results and form, he admits that the points obtained have a major influence on his team's season on and off the pitch.

"After ten games, we will not only have played Manchester City and Man United but, interestingly in our case, is that after four games we will have played three times away from home," he said.

"So if we do well, we will be in a strong position to have a positive trend after ten games. So the weight of these two games will certainly be very important, to see how strong we do away from home against the big teams.

"Of course, it will have an impact on our belief as well."

Graham Lister, Goal.com

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