ARSENAL MANAGER Arsene Wenger has raised doubts about Tottenham’s ability to fill Wembley during the 2017-18 season.
The Gunners’ north London rivals are using England’s national stadium as their home venue while the construction of the new White Hart Lane continues.
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Spurs played their European home games at Wembley last season but it did not prove to be a happy hunting ground, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side losing to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League before suffering a Europa League exit after a 2-2 draw with Gent.
Wenger believes any Spurs anxiety about playing at the ground is simply psychological but he does feel they will struggle to generate capacity crowds of 90,000 fans throughout the coming campaign.
“I think it is all a little bit in your head,” he said ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Leicester City on Friday.
“For a while you had the problem of the quality of the pitch but that does not exist anymore. Today, the pitch is of a similar quality to everywhere.
“After that, the difficulty is to fill it, nothing more. In England, we are not used to playing with half a stadium empty. So can they fill it in every game? I don’t know. A full Wembley Stadium is fantastic.”
Spurs begin their top-flight campaign against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Wenger doubts Tottenham can fill Wembley this season
ARSENAL MANAGER Arsene Wenger has raised doubts about Tottenham’s ability to fill Wembley during the 2017-18 season.
The Gunners’ north London rivals are using England’s national stadium as their home venue while the construction of the new White Hart Lane continues.
Spurs played their European home games at Wembley last season but it did not prove to be a happy hunting ground, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side losing to Monaco and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League before suffering a Europa League exit after a 2-2 draw with Gent.
Wenger believes any Spurs anxiety about playing at the ground is simply psychological but he does feel they will struggle to generate capacity crowds of 90,000 fans throughout the coming campaign.
“I think it is all a little bit in your head,” he said ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Leicester City on Friday.
“For a while you had the problem of the quality of the pitch but that does not exist anymore. Today, the pitch is of a similar quality to everywhere.
“After that, the difficulty is to fill it, nothing more. In England, we are not used to playing with half a stadium empty. So can they fill it in every game? I don’t know. A full Wembley Stadium is fantastic.”
Spurs begin their top-flight campaign against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.
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