Arsène Wenger has revealed that he is “addicted to statistics” and uses technical data to back up his instincts when signing players. Wenger was speaking in his role as an ambassador for Castrol, a sponsor for Euro 2008, which is developing the Castrol Performance Index, a system for analysing team and player performance, based on real-time data from the new Uefa Tracking System.

“The game is played by 11 players and you have only two eyes to observe everything on the pitch,” Wenger said. “The more concrete data you can have, the happier you are in terms of making the right judgment. Sometimes you are guided too much by the result and can misjudge performances. Data like this helps rate players who maybe you have neglected too much and helps everyone take a more objective view.”

That will include fans, who will be able to view the real-time statistics online at castrolindex.com while watching matches next summer, as well as managers looking for potential signings. “I’m addicted to these kind of statistics,” Wenger said. “You can assess strengths and weaknesses — how many passes a player makes, how many sprints, how many interceptions, assists. I’m conscious that if I am wrong when bringing in a player, no matter how good my work is afterwards, I will stay wrong. If a train starts on the wrong track, it cannot get to the right station.

Wenger expects England to make next summer’s Euro 2008 finals and believes Germany will contend for the trophy. “I think Germany are the up-and-coming team in Europe,” he said. “They got the feel-good feeling back with the World Cup and have looked very strong in qualifying.

“I think England will qualify. I could not understand why they were criticised for drawing 0-0 in Israel a few months ago. Few teams beat Israel in Israel.”