Arsenal keeper Jens Lehmann reckons psychological warfare with Arsene Wenger brings the best out of him.

Now the veteran star wants to resume the battle as he looks to displace rival Manuel Almunia as Wenger's No.1.

The 41-year-old, who returned to the Emirates after being handed a shock short-term deal, said the watchful eye of Wenger put him under intense pressure during his first spell at the Gunners.

But he insisted he would not have it any other way, telling News of the World: "I always knew that Wenger was very watchful of the age of players.

"When he recruited me I was 33 and I knew that when I made a mistake he didn't say 'Oops he made a mistake, I'll put him on the bench' but rather 'Ahh he's too old'.

"That was his first reaction.

"I knew he expected me to be perfect in every game.

"Without saying a word I felt it. When I arrived in England I made an error because I was in the habit in Germany of asking players to hit shots at me at the end of training.

"At Arsenal, where I contributed to setting up this little game, I felt Wenger's presence behind my goal.

"Each shot that I let in I knew he was frowning and saying to himself 'He should have stopped that one'.

"It's the kind of thing that puts you under pressure.

"Even if I did make mistakes I never played so many good matches as when I was with Arsenal.

"Wenger got the best out of me. It was a kind of a psychological war but it was good."

Former Premier League midfielder Robert Lee believes Arsenal should be ahead in the title race.



The ex-Newcastle United and West Ham United star has watched with interest as the Barclays Premier League continues to thrill at the top and bottom, writes Stewart Coggin.

Arsenal trail Manchester United by five points, with a match in hand. The Gunners host Sir Alex Ferguson's side at the Emirates Stadium on 1st May, so the title remains in their own hands going into the final two months of the season.


But Lee believes had Arsene Wenger purchased a goalkeeper and an extra central defender in the summer, they would now be ahead of their rivals.
　
Lukasz Fabianski and Manuel Almunia have both made high profile mistakes this season, while Wojciech Szczesny lacks experience. Although the Gunners boast the third best defensive record in the league, errors at the back have cost them goals.


world stars


"I think if Arsenal had a goalie and probably a centre-half….I think Arsene Wenger buys fantastic players who he picks up for next to nothing and makes them world stars," said Lee at the recent Football Extravaganza, a Premier League backed event in aid of the Nordoff Robbins music therapy charity.

"He's done it throughout his career at Arsenal and made them a lot of money, but goalkeepers, to me he has a weakness and just isn't able to see a goalkeeper.

"I'm a bit biased, but I played with Shay Given for many years at Newcastle and I still think he's the best Premier League goalie. He's been sitting there in the Manchester City reserves for the whole season. He'd probably cost you 4, 5 or 6m but so what, if that wins you the title, which I think he would.

"I just don't think Arsene Wenger can see goalkeepers and maybe that's a flaw in his character. At any other position he's fantastic.

"I still think they lack a centre-half but they are very creative and play the type of football that I love watching, but at the moment they seem to be making so many mistakes, leaking goals, and as I say if they had a goalie and centre-half, and with Man Utd not playing well, I think they'd be ahead."

played fantastically

Lee believes United will prevail come the end of the season but has not been impressed with the Red Devils' performances.

"It seems that nobody really wants to win it," he continued.

"I don't think I have seen Man Utd play really well but they just keep on grinding out results. Over the years when they have won the title, they have played fantastically, but they just seem to grind results out at the moment.

"I think if you look at that and imagine if they start playing well, nobody will really be able to touch them. I still fancy them to win it."

massively important


Lee has been impressed with Newcastle's first season back in the Barclays Premier League. He acknowledges that they have struggled with the sort of inconsistencies that have been a hallmark of the club over the years, but believes they have enough to stay in the division.

"I think they've done really well," he added. "They probably need two or three wins to keep themselves out of it (the relegation fight).

"I think the Wolves game coming up (on 2nd April) is a massively important game after their performance at Stoke (a 4-0 defeat) and if they aren't careful they could be dragged into a relegation fight but I think they have enough on the board at the moment.

"They have some decent home games coming up and with the crowd behind them…as long as they stay in the division, that'll be regarded as a success for the club really.

"I think they have been typical Newcastle: they win when you expect them to lose and lose when you expect them to win. They've had some great results, I was at the Arsenal game when they were 4-0 down, and it could have been seven or eight at half-time, but in the second-half they were fantastic and 4-4 was a great result in the end."

Now that young Jack Wilshere has broken into the full England team, there has been much talk of whether he should also play for the U21′s when they play in the European Championship this summer.

Arsene Wenger has already stated that is not keen for Wilshere to burn out the way that Theo Walcott did two years ago. Wenger said a few months ago: “We have to sit down at the end of the season and see how many games Wilshere has played, before considering that he plays in the under-21′s. That the boy wants to play, I find that positive. But that he is now playing with the first-team until June and then playing in the under-21s, that will not work.”

So far Wilshere has played 40 times in his first full season for Arsenal, and is likely to be over 50 by the end of the U21 tournament, but Wilshere is still very keen to be involved. “It is international football and I want to play in any international football.” he said. “It’s up to Stuart Pearce and Fabio Capello. They will talk and see what’s best for me. I always speak to the manager at Arsenal, too, and I will again. I am sure Stuart Pearce and Fabio Capello will talk to him as well.”

Capello though is happy to leave it to Pearce and Wenger to sort it out. “He is playing a lot of games,” said Capello. “He is a really important player for Arsenal and now he is very important for us. Also for the Under-21s. The European Under-21s is an important tournament and his selection is a decision for Stuart Pearce and the manager of Arsenal.”

“It isn’t my job. It is the job of the FA, of England, because the Under-21s are important. I haven’t got exclusivity on Wilshere. These three players – Wilshere, Walker and Carroll – are important for the future of England. I know that one Barcelona player, who is in the Spain first XI, has said he wants to play in the under-21s this summer. A big player. He wants to play in that tournament. But this is a question between Wilshere, his manager and Stuart Pearce.”

It looks like Wenger and Pearce are going to fall out then, as usual!

England goalkeeper Joe Hart believes it is time to stop mentioning Jack Wilshere's young age - just 19 - and to concentrate on lauding his quality.

Wilshere produced an impressive performance on his competitive debut for England in Saturday's 2-0 triumph over Wales in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

He linked up effectively with Frank Lampard and was able to get forward to good effect with Scott Parker in the holding role.

Hart said: "I thought Scott and Jack did really well. Jack is a class player. It's time people stopped talking about him being a good player for his age.

"He's a good player, never mind his age. The only thing to be said about his age really is that, hopefully, it means England have got him for many years to come.

"He handles everything so well and is a class player."

Hart did not have to make a meaningful save in the 90 minutes at the Millennium Stadium as goals from Lampard and Darren Bent wrapped up the points in the first 15 minutes.

He said: "It was a bit of a quiet game for me but the lads had virtually won the game in the first 20 minutes or so.

"They kind of killed whatever sort of buzz Wales were going to get from playing at home in the Millennium Stadium.

"The goals came at the ideal time and really kind of put a halt to anything they were going to do.

"I also felt that we had plenty left in the tank if we had needed to step up a gear. They have some good players who are very dangerous like Joe Ledley and Aaron Ramsey and Craig Bellamy.

"We knew they were always a threat and that's why I thought we defended really well."

Hart added: "We're top of the group again that's as much as you can ask. That's what we want to concentrate on doing - getting through."

Lampard believes the midfield formation and combination was ideally suited.

He said: "Scott carried on doing what he does for West Ham. He's been fantastic at that all season and the benefit of having an extra man in midfield showed itself.

"The three of us in there, particularly in the first half, allowed us to really get a grip of the game.

"It allows you to get a bit more forward. It allows you to get tight to their in midfield. We played Denmark in a friendly last month and, sometimes, when there are people behind you, you can't always commit to getting tight to their deep-lying midfield players.

"There was the bonus today of having the extra man in there to allow us to push in tight."