ARSENAL boss Arsene Wenger has done his chances of one day signing Paul Pogba no harm with a passionate defence of the France midfielder.
The Juventus star, wanted by almost every top team on the planet including Manchester City and Chelsea, has been criticised in France for his lack of form at Euro 2016.
But the Gunners boss, working as a pundit at the tournament, has rushed to the former Manchester United youngster’s defence.
Wenger went on to woo the Real Madrid and Barcelona target, comparing him to two of France’s greatest ever players; Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane.
He said: “Too much is expected of Pogba. We forget that he is only 23 and at 23 years old it’s hard to be the leader of France. Guys like Platini or Zidane were also questioned at that age.
“Pogba is still learning the trade. They say he made a bad move [against Albania], but it is a process by which players pass.
“They start at 20-21 years in the France squad, everyone says: ‘you are the most beautiful and the strongest we’ve ever had’.
“Gradually this creates expectation and at 22-23 years you are told: ‘Hey buddy, you are not bringing what was expected of you.
“So suddenly you find yourself projected onto the top in an extremely brutal manner.”
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Wenger even claims the Juve star, who already has four Serie A titles, won’t reach his prime until he’s 26, giving the Emirates boss three years to ramp up his charm offensive.
Pogba could become one of the planet’s most expensive players if he leaves Turin but Arsenal could not be ruled out of the running with Wenger’s grip on the purse strings slowly loosening.
His glowing review ended: “He does not bring all that is expected of him, it’s normal for this age.
“He will be the player we expect at 26 years. I have known no player who carried the France national team at 23 years.”
“There he goes through a maturation phase, you begin to question it. It’s the mental test in the career of a great player.
“Either he will lose the will he or will show that he is the player we expected and will improve further."
"This is the normal phase of a very good player on the way to a great player.”
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