Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits lying to media to protect players

Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger has admitted of lying to the media to protect members of his squad, but insisted that his conscience was clear because he did it for their benefit.

“If you are asking me if I have lied to the press to protect a player, the honest answer is yes. I didn’t do it and feel comfortable afterwards. But if it’s for one of my players, it’s a good cause,” The Telegraph quoted Wenger, as saying.

“When I lie to the press, I always speak to the player concerned beforehand to get our story straight,” he added.

Wenger's comments have come three days after striker Wayne Rooney said that Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was wrong to claim that an injured ankle was the reason he missed games against Valencia and Sunderland.

“I’ve had no problems with my ankle all season,” Rooney had claimed earlier.

Without directly referring to his case, Wenger said that players generally want to be involved in every match, even when resting might be in their best interests.

“If you ask the players, they want to play every three days, but if you ask the managers, sometimes they feel they have to rest players. If you look at the statistics, it is surprising that players don’t drop their performance when they play every three days, in terms of how far they run and the distance covered in sprints. The mental sharpness is what changes,” he stated further.