Arsenal manager says he will not talk about transfers
• Harry Redknapp wants Spurs to be London's top club
• Harry Redknapp wants Spurs to be London's top club
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Arsenal's Robin van Persie is said to be of interest to Manchester City in place of Carlos Tevez, to Arsène Wenger's dismay. Photograph: Tony O'Brien/Action Images
Arsène Wenger has reacted with belligerence and no little cynicism to Manchester City's interest in Robin van Persie, maintaining that his captain at Arsenal is under contract for a further two years and will not be sold.
City are exploring the option of signing a striker in January, following the controversy that has engulfed Carlos Tevez, who has been suspended after his refusal to play as a substitute at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, and Van Persie, whom City have admired for some time, has been talked of as a possible solution. The Holland international is in no hurry to discuss a contract extension at Arsenal and has suggested that it would be better if he were to wait until next summer, which has not only caused alarm behind the scenes at the club but has been noted with interest at City.
Wenger is no fan of how City have used the petrodollars of Abu Dhabi to press for major honours and he clashed with them this summer, when he felt they had unsettled the midfielder Samir Nasri before buying him for £24m. Nasri became the fourth player to leave Arsenal for City in recent times, after Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Touré and Gaël Clichy, and Wenger was exasperated at the link with Van Persie.
"Anybody who wants to sign one of our players … everybody has my phone number and can call me," he said. "I never said I was unhappy with Man City but I don't know why we speak about transfers. I will never answer any more. Robin is under contract until 2013. This is a story created to create a story. There is no truth in it. Why should we sell players in January? Man City already have problems because they have too many strikers, they pay half of the league for them to play away somewhere. Why should they want to buy strikers? It's very difficult to understand."
Wenger, in cagey and defensive mood before his team's visit to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, believes City should not be allowed to subsidise their players' wages while they are on loan at other Premier League clubs. He feels it gives them an unfair hold over the competition and he would be particularly aggrieved if Adebayor, who is on loan at Tottenham, made a decisive contribution to the derby.
"I know the salary of Adebayor," Wenger said. "I don't know who pays it but somebody must pay it. I don't agree with the rules but my job is to adapt to the rules. If the Premier League wants my opinion, I will give them my opinion with pleasure."
Wenger marked the 15th anniversary of his appointment at Arsenal with defiance and zero fanfare. "Maybe people expected us to crumble completely with the start that we had but they don't know us well enough," he said. "We have a very strong mentality. Don't come to quick conclusions, there is a long way to go."
He bristled when asked about his encounters with Tottenham's supporters. "I know who I am and I don't need to know what people chant to know who I am," he said. "The advantage of having experience in life is that you know who you are and you depend much less on what people say."
The Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, believes now is the time for his team to become "top dogs" in London, an achievement that, by putting them above Arsenal and Chelsea, would almost certainly guarantee them a Champions League berth. The last occasion Spurs finished as the capital's best side was in 1995. When Redknapp was asked if his team can achieve dominance he said: "Yeah, but if I start saying we should be top dogs and then they go and chin us on Sunday, then everyone says: 'Serves him right for opening his big mouth.'"
Tottenham stand four points behind Chelsea and two ahead of Arsenal after three consecutive wins, with the signing of Scott Parker in the summer strengthening their hopes of finishing above them. Redknapp said he believed at one stage Arsenal were favourites to sign the midfielder.
"We wanted him and Arsenal were always the team," Redknapp said. "And then Chelsea came in for [him] and I thought maybe he might go there but I thought Arsenal might take him." Redknapp said Parker's first choice was Spurs. "He is not going to move up north. I think Tottenham was the move he really wanted."
Aaron Lennon is a doubt against Arsenal due to a groin strain but Redknapp is happy with the form of his players. "We've got good options," he said. "Jermain [Defoe] was injured last week so Rafa [van der Vaart] came back in and played off Adebayor and we played slightly differently. Luka [Modric] played wide, Sandro played central with Parker, that was a good combination, two very strong players in there. So we have some good problems to have. Lots of good players."
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