London, Nov 1 (ANI): Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that it is becoming almost impossible to keep footballers out of trouble.

Wenger was as shocked when Wigan’s Marlon King was jailed this week for breaking a young woman’s nose outside a nightclub.

The incident raised a national debate about the behaviour of some footballers, accused of arrogantly believing the exorbitant salaries and celebrity status they enjoy are enough to place them above the laws that apply to regular citizens, News of the World reports.

Wenger admits he has been put off buying some big name stars for the Gunners in the past because of concerns about their lifestyle off the pitch.

But he says all managers are forced to some extent to ‘go blind and play poker’ when they sign a player because they cannot know everything about their problems outside football.

“You can’t be in management as long as I have and not have that dilemma. I can give you a list of big names who I have faced this problem with. It is not always because they are bad guys, it can be because they are sometimes weak guys,” Wenger said.

“They go out and they don’t know where to stop. They do not master their life. In London it’s impossible to keep track of a player’s every move.

“Let’s say you have a guy who drinks. He can drink at home, so how can you control that? He can have parties at home. Twenty years ago, the players went to the pub on a Tuesday and so on but now it’s not so public,” he said.

“In ideal conditions no boss would make a mistake. It was always a race against time with opponents who may also want to sign the player. Sometimes you have to go blind and play poker,” Wenger added.

Wenger believes all managers do their best to analyse the character of a footballer before paying out millions of pounds to bring them to their clubs, News of the World reports. (ANI)