Arsene Wenger has said that the ideal age bracket for a successful __football team is between 23 and 30. The Boss has always been known for his tendency to sign young players but now seems to desire more experience in his teams (via Arsenal.com).
Arsenal currently have the most experienced squad the club has had in years. Arsene Wenger’s starting team now has an average age of 27 which is much higher than it has been in recent years. It’s noticeable in Wenger’s signings too. The three major signings of the summer – Granit Xhaka, Lucas Perez, and Shkodran Mustafi are all aged between 23 and 27.
“To be a real __football player, you need to be 23 years old because before you have learned your job, you can have a great game and after, sometimes an average game,” Wenger told Arsenal.com
“You can have one or two exceptional talents, like at the moment we have Hector Bellerin and Alex Iwobi, but the core of the team has to be from 23 to 30.
“If you look at the national teams, you never win a tournament with a young team, because it’s more mental at some stage to win something big.
“You need to have a certain level of experience.”
It’s a real change from the last decade or so of Wenger’s time in charge. The Frenchman famously favoured his younger players over more experienced stars. That could’ve been down to a lack of transfer funds to go out and sign more established players but the change in policy is noticeable.