MindGuerrillas
23-10-07, 04:55 PM
Lehmann issues threat to Wenger
Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann has warned he may publicly air his grievances with Arsene Wenger if he does not play soon.
Lehmann's errors and injuries at the start of the season gave Manuel Almunia his chance and he is now first-choice ahead of the fit-again German stopper.
The 37-year-old told German TV channel Premiere: "I think - and this is aimed at my dear manager - one shouldn't humiliate players for too long.
"It's possible that some day I'll feel like talking about the whole issue."
Lehmann's comments come after he was left out of the Arsenal squad against Bolton last Saturday - a game he expected to play in after impressing for Germany earlier this month.
But Wenger, who dropped Lehmann after he gifted Blackburn an equaliser in the 1-1 draw on 19 August, stuck with Almunia and put young keeper Lukasz Fabianski on the bench.
"At the moment I'm just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. That's something one has to take in, " Lehmann said.
"But I'm an Arsenal player and I won't just fade away quietly."
Lehmann is also bemused by Wenger's statement that he has three "world-class" goalkeepers to pick from.
"One of them must be me," he suggested. "The other two have proved their class by winning titles? If I think about that, I can't recall any. I guess today you're nevertheless world-class."
Lehmann won the Uefa Cup in 1997 with Schalke 04, the Bundesliga title in 2002 with Borussia Dortmund and the Premier League with Arsenal in 2004.
And he made it clear he feels he should still be the number one at the Emirates Stadium.
"I'm convinced that I'll be playing again. Almunia has not yet showed that he can win matches for us," Lehmann added.
"I've experienced this situation before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper. I can't imagine he'll be able to handle that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7058711.stm
Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann has warned he may publicly air his grievances with Arsene Wenger if he does not play soon.
Lehmann's errors and injuries at the start of the season gave Manuel Almunia his chance and he is now first-choice ahead of the fit-again German stopper.
The 37-year-old told German TV channel Premiere: "I think - and this is aimed at my dear manager - one shouldn't humiliate players for too long.
"It's possible that some day I'll feel like talking about the whole issue."
Lehmann's comments come after he was left out of the Arsenal squad against Bolton last Saturday - a game he expected to play in after impressing for Germany earlier this month.
But Wenger, who dropped Lehmann after he gifted Blackburn an equaliser in the 1-1 draw on 19 August, stuck with Almunia and put young keeper Lukasz Fabianski on the bench.
"At the moment I'm just swallowing it all as part of the humiliation. That's something one has to take in, " Lehmann said.
"But I'm an Arsenal player and I won't just fade away quietly."
Lehmann is also bemused by Wenger's statement that he has three "world-class" goalkeepers to pick from.
"One of them must be me," he suggested. "The other two have proved their class by winning titles? If I think about that, I can't recall any. I guess today you're nevertheless world-class."
Lehmann won the Uefa Cup in 1997 with Schalke 04, the Bundesliga title in 2002 with Borussia Dortmund and the Premier League with Arsenal in 2004.
And he made it clear he feels he should still be the number one at the Emirates Stadium.
"I'm convinced that I'll be playing again. Almunia has not yet showed that he can win matches for us," Lehmann added.
"I've experienced this situation before and know what the others are expecting from the goalkeeper. I can't imagine he'll be able to handle that."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7058711.stm