The Premier League is a savage ‘jungle,’ says Wenger

Arsenal could go top this weekend

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has compared the Premier League to 'a jungle' and says that every day amounts to a fight for survival.

The 66 year-old, whose Arsenal side have started the season in excellent form and who crushed Ludogorets 6-0 in the Champions League in midweek, will hope his players bear that in mind as they prepare to welcome struggling Middlesbrough to the Emirates on Saturday afternoon. A win would put them top of the table, three clear of current leader Manchester City who play on Sunday.

The Premier League is a jungle, says Wenger

“I believe that humility is to understand that you start again from zero and that you are in a jungle,” said Wenger. “We live in a jungle where everybody wants to eat you and you have to survive by keeping your vigilance.”

Full screen

“That's what competition is about,” he continued. “Every day you have to fight again to survive. The love to win and the competitiveness of the Premier League is very exciting.”

Sánchez and Ozil are happy at Arsenal

Wenger, who recently celebrated two decades in charge of the club, says there is no truth in the rumours that star players Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil are delaying signing new contracts because they’re waiting to know what he’ll do when his contract expires at the end of this season.

Both Sanchez and Özil's contracts run until 2018. The German is the best paid player at the club and there has been speculation that talks were being held up because the pair wanted huge pay rises because of the fall in the pound.

Full screen

“We are always in touch,” said Wenger. “Mesut is 28 years old and in the prime of his career so of course we want him to contribute to the success of this club in the future”

“They are happy at the club and I want them to commit to the club because they believe they are in the right place,” he added.