Wenger dreams of luring Neymar to Arsenal

Santos ace Neymar is valued at around £40 million. (FILE)

Published Tuesday, December 06, 2011

By Staff

Arsene Wenger has not given up hope of luring Brazilian wonderkid Neymar to Arsenal despite the Santos ace having snubbed interest from Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Having previously shown disinterest to add to his squad in January unless presented with the opportunity to sign a star, Wenger has revealed the 19-year-old striker would be his dream signing.

"If I had the money today, I'd put it on Neymar," Wenger said, according to The Sun. "You can't say that Neymar is Pele as he had won the World Cup by the age of 17.

"He has the potential to be one of the future great strikers but at the moment there's a big difference between the Brazilian league and a European league."

Having bounced back from a disastrous start to the season, Wenger is keen to give more teeth to the side in attack which has been heavily reliant on skipper Robin van Persie to deliver the goods.

But Wenger will have to break the bank if he is to sign the starlet who is valued at around £40 million.

Wenger is preparing to take charge of his 200th European game as a manager when his side take on Olympiakos in Athens on Tuesday evening, with the Gunners having already progressed into the knockout stages of the competition.

"It is an impressive number because 200 games usually make a whole career. It's a privilege to play 200 games in Europe," he said of the milestone.

"It has meant many hotels, many planes and many big games - that is the most important thing. Now, we'll try to do well on this occasion. Of these 200 games in Europe, there must be about 160 in the Champions League. That is at the highest level and it's been a fantastic experience.

"We've had many highlights because over the years we have won everywhere.

"Maybe the only place we didn't win is Barcelona. We have won in Madrid, Milan, Rome, Germany, France.

"We have won everywhere. That means Arsenal is remembered well all over Europe as a strong club.

"I'm always learning. You're always learning about Europe. Alex Ferguson has even more experience than I have and you can see that it's difficult in Europe to win every single game."

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