Kolo Toure has praised his former manager Arsene Wenger’s ability to develop players into the best in the world as he prepares for a reunion with Arsenal tonight.
The Liverpool defender was one of several youngsters to achieve greatness from small beginnings under Wenger. Signed from Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas for £150,000 in 2002 he went on to play over 300 games in the heart of Arsenal’s defence and was a starter in the legendary 2003/04 Invincibles.
Seven years later Toure was sold to Manchester City for £14 million, following the likes of Patrick Vieira and Nicolas Anelka as bargain signings that went on to earn their club tens of millions when they were sold on.
Toure credited Wenger for his ability to spot young stars and develop them, telling the Telegraph: “Wenger is a top manager, he has shown that unbelievably.
“The thing I like is this manager can make an average player one of the best players in the world.
“He did that with so many players. George Weah, Patrick Vieira was in Milan not playing a lot, Thierry Henry was at Juventus and he brought him here and made him one of the best players in the world.
“He did that with so many players, he made a lot of players into top players. He is a fantastic manager. He did that with me because I started from nowhere. He took me to the next level and I always respect him for that.”
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Jurgen Klopp’s injury crisis will see 34-year-old Toure, who has made just nine appearances this season, drafted in to deal with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, having just recovered from his own injury.
He could be joined by QPR loanee Steven Caulker, who swapped Southampton for Liverpool just in time to be available for the Anfield clash.
