Bale’s no Messi - yet
Published: 1 hr ago
ARSENE WENGER insists it is too early to compare Gareth Bale to mega star Lionel Messi.
But the Arsenal boss does admit the Welsh wizard has improved beyond all recognition since the raw teenager he scouted at Southampton.
Bale is in the form of his life currently and scored two wonder free-kicks in Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Lyon in the Europa League last night.
His manager Andre Villas-Boas has likened him to Real Madrid’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo while many other pundits now rank the 23-year-old among the best players in the world.
Wenger said: “Bale has the potential to develop and become the players that you compare him to.
“However, Messi has won two or three Champions Leagues, a few championships, scored 95 goals in a year, so let’s not go too quick.
“You are always very quick here but let’s slow down a little bit.”
ARSENE WENGER on Arsenal's crunch European tie and his hopes for FA Cup clash with Blackburn
Bale was on Arsenal’s radar before he joined Tottenham in 2005, with Wenger opting to sign a then 16-year-old Theo Walcott.
Wenger maintains he has no regrets over that decision but accepts the winger has developed into a player of exceptional quality.
The Frenchman added: “It was Walcott and Bale, and we were at some stage on about taking the two if possible, but we could get Walcott and I am very happy we got him.
“If I tell you the number of players we did not sign who we should have signed, you would be amazed, but it is the same for every single club, you miss players.”
Meanwhile, Wenger believes Arsenal can go all the way in the Champions League IF they can get past Bayern Munich in the second round.
The Gunners take on the German giants in the first leg of their last-16 clash next week at the Emirates.
Wenger said: “We have a big game on Tuesday against Bayern. If we get past them, then why should we not go further and win it?”
“It looks at the start that winning the FA Cup is more reachable than any other competition but you don’t really know how difficult it will be.
“If you compare it to the Premier League certainly, we have more chances to do it because we are too far away in the Premier League.”
Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4796934/Gareth-Bale-no-Lionel-Messi-yet-Arsene-Wenger.html#ixzz2KyTrL3rn
