Arsène Wenger says Olympic football competition 'not a real tournament'

Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger, who is expected to lose up to five players for Stuart Pearce's Team GB at London 2012, has criticized the next summer's Olympic football competition in London, claiming that it is "not a real tournament" and that the Games are "for track and field".
 
The Football Association has indicated it could allow players selected for the European Championship to turn out for the Olympics less than a month later, but Wenger said that this scenario was unthinkable for Arsenal.

"Imagine the team who plays a qualifier for the Champions League, like we did, and it goes on in the period of the Olympic Games. There can be a conflict on the club side and the country side," he said.

Wenger could potentially start next season without Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - all of whom would be eligible to join Pearce's 18-man under-23 squad, The Telegraph reports.

"The Olympic tournament, for me, is not a real football tournament. For me, the Olympics is for track and field, basically," he said.