text: Arsene Wenger is so respected and so clearly a deeply intelligent man that every now and then you find yourself nodding sagely at something he has said which, upon closer examination, turns out to sound right but to have decidedly unsubstantial foundations. Usually it is related to how Arsenal’s defensive record is statistically actually very good (it is) in the aftermath of the latest debacle. But last week it was on the issue of quotas, or more specifically FA chairman Greg Dyke’s idea of increasing the number of homegrown players in a Premier League squad of 25 from eight to 12. ‘I believe that we are in the world of competition,’ said Wenger in one of his regular interviews to beIN Sports. ‘That means as well that the rules of the game must be structured to favour the best or we are not in a competition anymore. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger shows his frustrations during a Premier League match in March 2011 . FA chairman Greg Dyke pictured attending the friendly between England and Italy in Turin on Tuesday . ‘So we can say one or two things – we protect the mediocre or we produce the best players. If you want to sell the Premier League for a huge amount of money then we need to say: "Buy this, this is the best league in the world." You cannot go against the quality and what is at the heart of our job, which is competition.’ And on the surface there seems nothing wrong with this. As an economics graduate Wenger is a disciple of Adam Smith and these are the basic principles of a free market. Tear down barriers, let competition flourish and the best man or woman will ultimately win – or at least have a place in Wenger’s starting XI. It sounds sensible enough but of course the issue is a little more complex than Wenger implies. A cursory glance at Wenger’s transfer record shows in his bid to save the Premier League from English mediocrity he has signed Tomas Danilevicius, Igor Stepanovs, Kaba Diawara, Sebastian Squillaci, Andre Santos, Amoury Bischoff, Park Chu-Young, Marouane Chamakh, Pascal Cygan, Philippe Senderos, Denilson, Manuel Almunia and Johan Djourou. Arsenal's Andre Santos on the ball during a league match against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in 2011 . Marouane Chamakh (left) attempts to control the ball during a Capital One Cup clash with Reading in 2012 . Arsenal midfielder Denilson (left) holds off Leyton Orient's Stephen Dawson at the Emirates in 2011 . There are more but that’s what a brief search elicits. You might argue that you need to sign ten Park Chu-youngs to get one Robin van Persie. And of course, over 18 years any manager, even a great one as Wenger is, can make some dud buys. He made some very good ones from abroad as well: Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Cesc Fabegas... we could go on. But the list of shame does expose a flaw at the heart of his argument. Clubs always argue for fewer restrictions and they always say it is to do with excellence. The reality is it’s just as much to do with cost. There is nothing in Greg Dyke’s proposals to stop Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla playing for Arsenal. It might however make it a little trickier for the likes of Almunia, Andre Santos and Stepanovs in the future. The reason why Arsenal went for Stepanovs back in 2000 was not because it he was excellent; it was because he was cheaper than the equivalent English player; same with Almunia in 2004 and Andre Santos in 2011. Turns out they weren’t good enough either. Arsenal's Park Chu-young in action during a Carling Cup match against Shrewsbury Town in 2011 . Igor Stepanovs (left) battles with Sunderland's Kevin Phillips for the ball at Highbury in December 2000 . Arsenal goalkeeper Manuel Almunia watches a shot go wide at the Emirates Stadium in January 2011 . Now it may be that applying more quotas could be detrimental to Dyke’s vision of encouraging clubs to play English players in that it pushes their price up even more. That’s a debate worth having but the main thrust of Dyke’s proposals is simply to encourage the clubs to rely less on the marketplace and grow their own players. For Wenger’s argument sounds great in theory but the reality is that there is a class of players at the tip of the footballers’ pyramid which stand out and which any team would want – the Thierry Henrys, Patrick Vierias of this world. Nothing in Dyke’s rules to prevent them from signing, as they were EU nationals. You would only have to be a little more sure you could find space for them as one of your 13 – that’s 13! – foreign players in your squad of 25. But there is another tier of players below that – let’s says the Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta level (who would also still be available under they Dyke proposals as EU players). These are good players, but they are much more plentiful than the elite. In fact, given the right training and a chance in the first team, you could probably produce your own. Arsenal did once: Ray Parlour. Served Wenger quite well, too, in his double-winning and Invincible years. Ray Parlour falls to the ground after a tackle by Tottenham's Jamie Redknapp at White Hart Lane in 2004 . Wenger (left) watches on from the touchline as Arsenal face Monaco in the Champions League last month . But Parlour was developed before Wenger arrived and he was the beneficiary of a youth system which was thriving at the time. The Arsenal manager, since his arrival, has never shown an awful amount of interest in Arsenal’s youth set-up. He is undoubtedly a manager who supports young players – it’s just most of them are signed from abroad or Southampton rather than coming from his own academy. The fact that Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere are regular starters and were players developed at Arsenal's academy during Wenger’s 18 years is exceptional for his period as manager. Ashley Cole was his greatest find from that source but who knows what would have happened to him had Silvinho not had to leave the club suddenly when his Portuguese nationality was called into question? All Dyke is trying to do is focus clubs and their managers on trying a little bit harder to look in their own backyard before spending £2million on Pascal Cygan. Nothing he has proposed would stop Premier League clubs from signing genuine superstars. The ‘best league in the world’ (the league, incidentally, without any qualifiers in the Champions League quarter-finals under the current policy) is under no threat whatsoever. Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs (left) breaks past QPR's Darnell Furlong at Loftus Road last month . Arsenal's Jack Wilshere (front) charges forward with the ball during a friendly against Brentford on Tuesday . Sadly Dyke probably killed his idea by announcing it in public before asking the clubs. If there is one thing guaranteed to rile the Premier League, it’s attempting to dictate terms. The only way to cajole the multi-national group of owners and executives into helping English football is by convincing them it’s in their own interests. Most are already on board in theory with the narrative that homegrown players are worthwhile. But now they need an additional nudge to take the final step and actually play some of their expensively-trained academy players. Even Mauricio Pochettino, who has a great track record with English players, wouldn’t have given Harry Kane a go if Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor had been producing. But if Kane isn’t a good enough incentive for the Premier League clubs to work harder to promote players, perhaps their recent travails in the Champions League and Europa League might convince them. A majority of the best players in the world are being produced in Spain and South America; another significant proportion come from Germany. Tottenham's Emmanuel Adebayor gestures during the Capital One Cup semi-final in January . Tottenham star Harry Kane celebrates after scoring against Leicester at White Hart Lane last month . The best of those players will naturally aspire to play for Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Now that Financial Fair Play restrictions mean the wages are no bigger over here, those that come to the Premier League will be the second tier of stars that can’t make it at those clubs. If English clubs want to be the best in the world, they’re going to have to become an awful lot better at creating the best players. And if Wenger wants to examine something truly mediocre he might wish to cast his eye over the Premier League’s record in Europe over the past three seasons. In fact, if he paid a little more attention to building a core of homegrown players then perhaps, like Ajax, AC Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Arsenal might have won the Champions League by now.
target: FA chairman Greg Dyke wants to increase the minimum homegrown players in a Premier League squad of 25 from eight to 12 .
  Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has criticised the proposal .
  Wenger has had his fair share of dud buys for the Gunners .
  Perhaps he should pay attention to building a core of homegrown players .
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