Wenger considering re-signing ex-captain Vieira

LONDON (AP) - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said former captain Patrick Vieira wants to come back to the Premier League club and is considering whether to re-sign the midfielder to provide much-needed experience.


The 33-year-old Vieira has a year left on his Inter Milan contract and has been linked with a move to Arsenal or north London rival Tottenham.

"He has gone through a difficult period as well in the last season. I am aware that he wants to come here," Wenger said Friday. "Patrick is a great player and a legend here and he would always like to come back to this club, that would be his first choice."

The notoriously cautious Wenger is in no rush to make an offer for Vieira, who left in 2005 after nine years at Arsenal.

"There is a football decision and there's a psychological impact of a player of that stature that could come in," Wenger said. "At the moment, we need to look at the level of experience in (the) squad to make this kind of decision.

"But we are nowhere near to making a decision like that. It is a possibility."

Speaking before the Emirates Cup preseason tournament this weekend, Wenger is coming under mounting pressure from fans and players alike to add more experience to the team in a bid to win its first title since the 2005 FA Cup.

Despite selling Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City and only signing Belgium defender Thomas Vermaelen, Wenger insisted the squad has the quality to challenge for the Premier League title.

"We lost two great players but we have as well great players (left) behind, and that's up to us to show during the season that we still have the quality to fight at the top level," Wenger said. "The squad is very young. This team has improved a lot as compared to last season."

While only finishing fourth last season in the Premier League they last won in 2004, the Gunners reached the semifinals of the Champions League and the FA Cup.

"We have a squad which is very ambitious," Wenger said. "We have the basic quality, they have international quality and are under 23, so their best time is now. We have developed a style and culture of play that everybody accepts, so I feel confident and very strong.

"Our focus should not be who can help us from outside, but who can help us from inside. Most of the players are young players. Kolo was very experienced, but Nicklas Bendtner has been here since he was 15 and he is now 21 and still a very young player."

Arsenal could sign Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh after Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud revealed he had been contacted by Wenger, who refused to confirm that.

Robin van Persie, Bendtner, Carlos Vela, Andrei Arshavin and the Eduardo are expected to play this weekend, but Theo Walcott is being rested and won't feature Saturday against Atletico Madrid or Sunday versus Rangers.

Tomas Rosicky is in contention for his first appearance at Emirates Stadium since January 2008 after having recovered from hamstring and knee injuries. He returned in a friendly at Barnet earlier this month, but was ruled out of the next three matches.