Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger insists he did manage to replace Patrick Vieira.

Finding the 'new Vieira' is something many clubs have tried to do, but Wenger believes it's an almost impossible task considering the player the now Nice boss was.

Speaking to beINSPORTS, Wenger said: "It was not a conscious decision [to buy smaller players].

"Unfortunately, to find a [Patrick] Vieira who can play football like a small player... since I've been in England everybody has said 'I've found the new Vieira' but 20 years have passed and nobody's found him.

"And [Emmanuel] Petit was the same. But it was a little coincidence that we got [Cesc] Fabregas. He was not tall but he was still a great football player.

"So I replaced Vieira with Fabregas and Gilberto Silva, who also worked hard for the team, because Gilberto Silva and Vieira was also a fantastic pair and they were the Invincibles.

"And after that came a problem when they built the stadium, we had to sell our best players."