Liverpool's Kolo Toure has lauded his former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's ability to transform average players into world class performers.

The Ivorian made 326 appearances during his seven years with the Gunners and played a major role in the 2004 Invincibles team, along with a number of other players who were perceived as risks or unknowns when they signed for the club.

"Wenger is a top manager, he has shown that unbelievably," Toure told The Telegraph.

"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."