Arsene Wenger: Arsenal boss says there is no doping in English game

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he does not believe there is doping in English football, but would be happy to discuss the issue with authorities.

UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) said it would "value the opportunity" to talk to the Frenchman, who last year said Uefa's drug rules "basically accept doping".

Wenger, 66, said: "I am sure that not one club in England is trying to dope its players.

"I am absolutely 100% convinced that nobody tries to do that as a club."

Asked about the possibility of talks with Ukad chief Nicole Sapstead, he added: "I have more desire than time but I am always happy to help if I can.

"In football we look like we want to tackle the problem now, but for a long period we didn't.

"What is important is that we all try to show we don't accept it. It is important to think that when a guy wins it is because he is the best, not because he has taken illegal substances."

Wenger, the longest-serving manager in the Premier League, has long been an advocate of advances in drug-testing in football.

In November, he criticised European governing body Uefa's regulations after Dinamo Zagreb's Arijan Ademi was banned for four years for failing a test following his side's Champions League win over Arsenal in September.

Wenger, whose side host Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, was upset the result stood and Dinamo were not expelled from the competition.