Wenger now happy he kept Mannone

ARSENE WENGER admits he would have sold Vito Mannone if he could have found a buyer but the goalkeeper faces Chelsea at the Emirates today having conceded only two goals in four games.

Mannone’s Arsenal future looked doomed after an error against Olympiakos in the Champions League last December and he was quickly despatched out on loan to Hull City.

‘When I sent him to Hull, I watched him every single game and all the reports I had were very positive,’ said Wenger. ‘I was quite surprised no club went for him because I would have let him go.’

Mannone returned to Arsenal and has performed well after finding himself back in the team following injuries to Polish pair Wojciech Szczesny and Lukasz Fabianski.

‘He always believed in himself and was ready to show me that but he had no real opportunity to play, ’ said Wenger, who challenged the 24-year-old Italian to make the place his own. ‘You can never rule that out. You can never say to a player, “You have no chance”. It is down to performances. We are in a job where the hierarchy is not set.

‘Szczesny has the No 1 shirt and it is up to the others to win it. He has not lost it but there is competition.

‘They need competition but also confidence. It is a special position where, if you are challenged every time, if you change every time, you cannot be good.

‘Do you know one goalkeeper in the world who doesn’t make a mistake? He doesn’t exist. Once they are set No 1, they know if they make a mistake they are not immediately out.

‘ If Gianluigi Buffon makes a mistake he knows he will play for Juventus the next game and if Joe Hart makes a mistake he knows he will play for Manchester City the next game. That’s important, but if, over a period of time, their standards drop, and somebody comes in, that’s different.’

Szczesny had a shoulder injury at the end of last season which limited his training and required injections so he could play. The 22-year- old was then sent off in the opening game of Euro 2012 against Greece and lost his place in the Poland team to PSV Eindhoven’s Przemyslaw Tyton.

He has been troubled by injuries since and is expected to be out for two more weeks with an ankle problem.