Chinese transfer record broken five times in 2016 as Oscar arrives

Arsene Wenger had a front row seat the last time a major Asian nation sought to supercharge its football development with financial investment, when working with Nagoya Grampus Eight in the Japanese league in 1995, but recent events in China have left even Arsenal's veteran manager flummoxed.

"It's a surprise, it's a distortion," he said this week of Oscar's record-breaking £60 million move to Shanghai SIPG from Chelsea. "I think basically when you're a football player you want to combine the quality of the competition with the quality of your wages. But it is a surprise to me."

Big-name signings on inflated salaries were the hallmark of the J.League when Wenger worked there for a year before his move to Highbury. Backed by Toyota, the world's largest car manufacturer, Grampus Eight were among the clubs who benefitted, while Dunga, captain of Brazil's 1994 World Cup-winning squad, and midfielder Zinho were enticed to give up football in Europe and South America respectively to join the Japanese revolution.

Others were to follow as the influx of high quality foreign players and coaches prompted a raising of standards that now sees the nation at the pinnacle of the Asian game.

It is that model -- at least in part -- that the Chinese are seeking to replicate and it started when Guangzhou Evergrande paid €10m in 2011 to sign Dario Conca from Fluminense in Brazil and made him reportedly the third-highest paid player in world football.

The diminutive Argentinian, then the reigning Player of the Year in Brazil, helped drag the club out of the second division in 2011 and into the Chinese Super League, kick starting a run that has established Evergrande as China's dominant force.

Conca's success has been proof of concept, while club owners -- principally the country's enormously wealthy property developers -- are now seeking to play their role in delivering President Xi Jinpeng's desire for China to become a power within the world game. It seems money is no object and the likelihood is that Oscar's mega-move won't be the last transfer to make international news. Here are the biggest so far as the record has been broken five times in the space of a year.

Oscar: £60m

Signed for a new Asian record transfer fee, Oscar becomes the latest South American to trade Europe for China and in the process earns himself a reported £400,000-a-week. He will be expected to lead Shanghai SIPG to a first-ever Chinese Super League title.

Hulk: £46.1m

Signed from Zenit St Petersburg, Hulk joined Shanghai SIPG in the previous record-breaking transfer in June as the club sought to end Guangzhou Evergrande's dominance both in the domestic and continental game. Injured just 15 minutes into his first game, the Brazilian played a minor role for the club towards the end of last season.

Alex Teixeira: £38.4m

Alex Teixeira joined Jiangsu Suning in February ahead of last year's Chinese Super League in another then-record deal, choosing to move to China from Shakhtar Donetsk rather than join Liverpool. He helped Jiangsu to runners-up spots in the Chinese Super League and the Chinese FA Cup last year.

Jackson Martinez: £31m

Jackson Martinez traded Atletico Madrid for Guangzhou Evergrande last year in a headline-grabbing move just seven months after moving to Spain from FC Porto. But he has had a year to forget with injuries and poor form costing him his place in the Guangzhou line-up.

Ramires: £25m

Ramires' move to Jiangsu Suning was the precursor to Oscar's transfer to Shanghai SIPG as his transfer from Chelsea to the Chinese Super League set a new Asian record transfer fee at the time. That title would shift to Martinez and then on to Teixeira over the space of a remarkable 10 days.

Arsene Wenger defends Guardiola's criticisim

Pep Guardiola's team lost 4-2 to Leicester at the weekend.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has defended Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola after his defensive tactics were questioned following a 4-2 loss to Leicester, saying criticism of the Spaniard has been "unfair."

Guardiola was criticised by pundits for dismissing the importance of tackling after his side fell to a second straight league defeat following a 3-1 loss to Chelsea the previous weekend.

"I'm not a coach for the tackles, so I don't train the tackles," Guardiola said after the Leicester game.

But Wenger said the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach should be applauded for his attack-minded style of play, and that his record proves his teams know how to defend.

"Pep Guardiola, like myself, we are for offensive football. And when you don't win, people question that. And that's as simple as that," Wenger said ahead of Arsenal's trip to Everton on Tuesday. "Overall, I think what he wanted to say is that he promotes a game that is positive and I agree with him on that. You respect him for that. I believe that he doesn't forbid his players to tackle.

It's true that in the trainings you focus on your players to play an offensive game. You look at the number of games he has lost in his career, you would think that he defends quite well. For me it's a bit the wrong debate. His teams usually defend well."

Defending champions Leicester have struggled badly to repeat their heroics of last season's stunning title charge, but looked back to their best against City as they took a 2-0 lead after five minutes and were 4-0 up by the 78th when Jamie Vardy completed a hat trick.

And Wenger pointed out that the strong start by Leicester didn't leave Man City much of a choice other than to expose themselves defensively for the rest of the game.

"I come back to one simple fact in that game. When you're 2-0 down away from home, against a team that is good on the counter-attack, you know you have have to come out like mad to come back," Wenger said.

"And you expose yourself on counter-attacks. What was the strength of Leicester last season? It was that. So they were in a position where they are at their strength after five minutes. Then you can criticise what you want. I believe it's unfair because they had to come out and they had to take the risk to be exposed on counter-attacks."

Wenger's own team have often been criticised in recent years for conceding too many goals on counter-attacks, but this season they've been a lot more successful when they're chasing a deficit. The Gunners have fallen behind in six games in the Premier League and Champions League, but finished those games with three wins and three draws.

One of those was Saturday's 3-1 home win over Stoke, but Wenger admitted that the Gunners have often had small margins on their side -- such as when Petr Cech made a good save to deny a Peter Crouch header when the score was still 2-1 against Stoke.

"I look at the history of the games, there are always turning points that have gone for us. It's never one-way traffic. Even on Saturday it could have been 2-2," Wenger said. "We manage to get the turning points on our side. I'm conscious that it's very tight. But I'm conscious as well that there is a resilience in the squad, because it's not a coincidence, six times."

Wenger: Arsenal bigger than Ozil and Sanchez

Arsene Wenger has confirmed he will offer Santi Cazorla a new contract but insists Arsenal's future doesn't depend on whether Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez decide to stay, saying the club "is bigger than that."

Cazorla had surgery this week on a foot injury and Wenger had refused to say last week whether the club would exercise their option to extend his contract by another year.

The 31-year-old Spaniard's current deal expires next summer, but Wenger said on Friday that "we will extend, certainly, with Santi Cazorla."

However, the Arsenal boss is still facing a fight to keep his star duo of Ozil and Sanchez, who have reportedly refused to sign contract extensions as they hold out for a massive pay rise, with only 18 months left on their current deals.

Losing them would be a massive blow to a club that have insisted that their selling days are over after a period when a slew of star players exited for more money elsewhere.

Asked about the importance of proving they can now keep hold of top talent, Wenger said: "Yes, but Arsenal is a big club. It is not one or two players who will make the difference to the club. The importance is that we are today in a financial position that is strong, that was not the case before.

"That means as well we are in a position where we can plan our future, and do what we want to do. And what is important is always to take care of the values of the club, and the identity of the club, and not to depend too much on one or two players. The history of Arsenal is bigger than that."

Wenger said earlier in the day that he would not entertain offers for either Ozil or Sanchez next summer even if they refuse to sign new deals, meaning they could be allowed to leave for free the following year.

No matter what happens, contract negotiations are likely to continue to be a talking point for Arsenal throughout the season. Not only is Wenger's own contract up next summer, several other players will also need new deals before the end of the season to avoid a situation where they become available for free the following year.

That includes Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud, whose futures are also uncertain. Wilshere went on loan to Bournemouth this season to resurrect his injury-ravaged career, while Giroud has lost his starting spot to Sanchez and could grow restless on the bench.

"We work as well on Giroud and on many players, there are six or seven cases at the moment but that is the usual case, it is every year like that," Wenger said. "Giroud, Wilshere. That explains to you why we have a lot of work to do, but you are only interested in two cases."

Man United boss Jose Mourinho: More expected from me than Wenger

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes the press hold him to higher standards than Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

Mourinho, who said before Saturday's 1-1 draw with Arsenal at Old Trafford that he doesn't get the respect he deserves, also highlighted Wenger's title drought in an interview with ESPN Brasil.

"The Arsenal manager hasn't won a championship in 14 years [sic, 12 years]," Mourinho said. "I haven't won a championship in 18 months. He, in 14 years [sic], failed to build a team to be champion.

"I've been here for four months. And the demand is only for me and not for others."

Since Wenger last won the title in 2004, Mourinho has won three at Chelsea, two at Inter Milan and one at Real Madrid -- as well as the Champions League, which Wenger has never won.

"It must be because of the career I've made," Mourinho added. "Because I have got to the clubs and have always won right away.

"And this is a more difficult reality [this season], because it is an extremely difficult competition, with teams being prepared for a lot longer, with excellent players, with excellent coaches.

"Manchester [United] really live in a period that needs stability -- a stability that the club wants to give me, a stability that the club gives me, a stability that the fans give me, but that the press does not accept very well."