Wenger: Losing players is 'painful'

Arsene Wenger feels he was always brave to give young players a chance with Arsenal - and that it was "painful" to see big-spending Manchester City raid his squad again last summer.

Midfielder Samir Nasri, 24, and full-back Gael Clichy, 26, followed striker Emmanuel Adebayor and centre-half Kolo Toure from Emirates Stadium to join the Blues, who have set the pace at the top of the Barclays Premier League. After taking a chance to bring all of those players through with the Gunners, Wenger admits there will always be a sense of frustration at potential lost.

"At the end of the day when you sell a player, you cannot complain after because at some stage you say 'yes we let him go' and you have to do the right thing for the club, but it is always painful to lose players at 23 or 24 years old," he said.

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