Stoke city manager Mark Hughes has begun the mind games ahead of the trip to the Emirates stadium during the weekend. He has said that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will not be afraid of walking away from the club, where he has been the manager for more than a decade, if the club fail to win any trophies yet again this summer. Arsenal have not won a major trophy for the last eight years, while their last Premier league title came back in 2004. As a result, there is a reluctance amongst players to join the club.

However, the club only recently managed to secure the signing of German playmaker Mesut Ozil for £ 42 million, which has become one of the biggest deals in history of the Premier league. This is the first time Arsene Wenger has spent money on a big-name. He has chosen to remain very prudent in the transfer window, which has been regarded as one of the reasons for their failure to win a trophy. Ahead of the trip to the Emirates stadium, Hughes has raised the pressure on his opponent by saying that Wenger will walk away if he does not win a trophy.

Hughes only recently became the manager of Stoke city after taking over from Tony Pulis in the summer.

“Does he have to win something? That is a given. It would be a big wrench, he has a big emotional attachment to the club and rightly so. He has led them in changing grounds and building different teams for different periods, so I can understand his reluctance to walk out on that. He is an honest man and he might think it is time to give someone else the opportunity to bring the trophies he hasn’t been able to recently,” said Hughes.