Arsene Wenger admits that one thing that needs adding to his Arsenal side is tall defensive players.
The Gunners conceded the fewest goals from open play in the Premier League this season, but were caught out too often on crosses and set pieces.
The Frenchman feels pleased with the efforts of his team, and believes they are 95% of the way to being successful, and some defensive reinforcements this summer should help.
He said: “We get it 95 per cent right, but we must gain that five per cent because it’s so frustrating to flirt with success like we have done. The fans are unhappy that we didn’t win the Premier League, but we are close.
“In 2003 we were also the best away team, but didn’t win. We kept going and in 2004 we were very strong.
“We conceded very few goals from open play, most of them were from set pieces in a way you don’t want to concede goals.
“It’s something that’s easy to correct. We need to improve the size of our squad. We need a bigger variety in the height of our players. We need to be more capable of fighting against some characteristics than we have been this season.”
Wenger added that he realises the pressure is on now to deliver, as the patience of the supporters is wearing thin.
He added: “The criticism has been sharper this year because of the impatience of people.
“People love what we do but they want us to be rewarded so that they can be convinced we do things the right way. They want proof that we do things the right way.
“For our fans the frustration was that we were so close to convincing everybody of how football can be great, but in the end not being able to deliver.
“I would call it disappointed love. It was cruel and sometimes you get excessive responses to that. I share that and understand it. But that doesn’t mean we have to change our philosophy or the way the club is run.”
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