Bale: Arsenal ´damaged´ by departures

Tottenham winger Gareth Bale believes local rivals Arsenal have been ‘damaged’ by the loss of their star players Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri.

Spurs overcame their fellow north London club 2-1 on Sunday, a defeat for Arsene Wenger’s team that leaves them in 15th place and just two points from the relegation zone.

Bale now sees the Gunners as a more vulnerable outfit after the side lost Fabregas and Nasri and has claimed that they are not the side they used to be.

“Arsenal have lost a few players, which makes them more beatable I think as that has damaged the way they play,” Bale told reporters.

“We exposed that. I think keeping your best players is a massive thing. They are used to how you play and what you do. It is vitally important to do that and build your team around them.”

“It is important that we have (Luka Modric), and Arsenal were unlucky not to keep theirs.”

The Wales international insists that, despite the Gunners lacking their winning instinct, Wenger’s team will improve as the season progresses.

“They are still a great team. They haven’t had the best of starts but I am sure they will improve,” Bale said.

“They have a lot of young players who are going to grow up in the next season or two and learn a lot. I am sure they will be fine.”

In terms of Tottenham’s own stars, Bale has been impressed with the new blood at White Hart Lane, with both Scott Parker and Emmanuel Adebayor making early contributions.

“Scott [Parker] covers every blade of grass and does a very important job for us,” he said.

“Adebayor has been running the channels, holding the ball up, scoring and winning headers.”

“For us it’s massive to beat the bigger teams, and especially our local rivals, which is important – not just for us but the fans.”