Arsene Wenger is full of admiration for Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahead of preparing his Arsenal team to face the tall Swede’s Milan in the Champions League.
The Rossoneri welcome Wenger’s Gunners to San Siro on Wednesday night for the first leg of their Last 16 European Cup tie.
Arsene Wenger is full of admiration for Zlatan Ibrahimovic ahead of preparing his Arsenal team to face the tall Swede’s Milan in the Champions League.
The Rossoneri welcome Wenger’s Gunners to San Siro on Wednesday night for the first leg of their Last 16 European Cup tie.
Talking ahead of returning to the ground that his team beat Milan on in 2008 at this same stage of the competition, Wenger identified the key threat in the opposition – Ibra.
“He is a great player,” Wenger told Arsenal’s official website. “If you look at his record, at what he has won, he has his own personality based on a strong belief in himself.
“That is a quality at the top level that can sometimes be seen as over-confidence but I don't think he is because he turns up with performances in the big games.
“That's why I believe he was at the Arsenal training ground before his career. Before he moved to Ajax we were interested in him, and he made a great career.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday night’s encounter, the Frenchman cited the similarities he sees in the two clubs.
“Together we have a very balanced team!” he joked.
“Basically they have the same philosophy, that means they look after their players, they have a family attitude towards the way they treat the players, and we have exactly the same.
“They do it by keeping their players a bit longer and we have done it with some younger players but basically the philosophy is not so different.”