Wenger gunning for European boost

ARSENAL MANAGER Arsene Wenger has “promised” his team will bounce back from the disappointment of defeat at Fulham with a strong performance against FC Twente tonight to book a place in the lucrative group stages of the Champions League.

The Gunners — who opened last season with a 21-match unbeaten run in all competitions — were well below par at Craven Cottage and Wenger was clearly irked by the lacklustre display.

However, while the preachers of doom may already be forecasting a bleak outlook for the future of his young side over the next nine months, Wenger fully expects a response when Steve McClaren’s Dutch outfit come to the Emirates Stadium looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg.

“We were not good on Saturday and we lost the game, it is as simple as that,” said Wenger, who expects key midfielder Cesc Fabregas to return from a hamstring injury.

“You cannot want the supporters not to take it to heart because we do. We are all very disappointed with our performance. We completely understand the critics because we were not good — but we promise we will come back and play well tomorrow, to put a good performance in.”

A defiant Wenger continued: “We live in world now where you have to accept the critics and a definite conclusion from everybody. But I know my squad is good, my team is good, our spirit is good.

“We are intelligent enough to know we did not play well on Saturday, but we know as well we have the quality to respond.”

Wenger insists there is “no news” on the signing of a creative midfielder after being linked with Gareth Barry, Xabi Alonso and Udinese’s £8million- (10m-) rated Switzerland international Gokhan Inler.

In fact, the Arsenal manager maintains his squad — which has several players missing through injury — is already strong enough to mount another sustained attack on both the Premier League title and in Europe.

He said: “I believe we have a strong squad and I believe in the players I have instead of always looking at who might be coming in. It is not one player who makes a difference.

“It is up to us as team to show personality, strength and belief within the squad. That will make the difference.”

Wenger also revealed “congestion” at the centre of the Arsenal defence prompted his decision to allow Philippe Senderos to join AC Milan on loan.

Wenger feels he now has plenty of cover following the arrival of versatile former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre.

“Senderos has gone to Milan today and will complete a medical,” said Wenger. “At the moment, he does not get the games here, and so now he can play somewhere and remains in a top-level club. We want him to play without losing him.”