Holloway was right says Wenger

Jim van Wijk,Pa
Friday 12 November 2010 10:43 EST
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Arsenal move to within two points of Chelsea
Arsenal move to within two points of Chelsea (GETTY IMAGES)

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Arsene Wenger believes the new rules on player quotas means Blackpool boss Ian Holloway had every right to make 10 changes to his team - so long as the fans never get short-changed.

The Premier League are investigating Holloway's selection for Wednesday's 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.

The Tangerines manager has declared he will resign if the club are punished by the authorities, who set a precedent last year when Wolves were given a suspended £25,000 fine after manager Mick McCarthy made 10 changes to his side to face Manchester United.

Blackpool came agonisingly close to snatching a draw after DJ Campbell equalised three minutes from time, only for Villa to go straight down the other end and claim the win courtesy of James Collins' header.

Wenger maintains the fact that new guidelines were introduced to limit the size of a first-team squad means any of those players should be considered available for selection.

"We are allowed only 25 players now in our squad, so you would think if you are allowed only 25, then you have to declare you can use them how you want," the Arsenal manager said.

"When you had 50 and you could use 50, you could say there was an opportunity sometimes to throw a game away.

"That is one of the few positive aspects of the 25-man squad, that you have to present decent players, which is what he did, and they gave big problems to Aston Villa."

Wenger, however, warned supporters must always believe the team is set up to provide challenging opposition.

"What is most important is the performance of the team," Wenger added. "We are all in professional sport and what is the most important thing is to respect people who pay the money to watch the games.

"If people who bought a ticket at Aston Villa and think the game against Blackpool was a waste of money, we have to think about the problem.

"They are the decider and we must always have that in our minds. We have to respect people who pay to watch football.

"It is not only my opinion or the opinion of the press, it is the opinion of the people who watch the games."

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