Wenger hails ‘great’ Andrey

HE’s been the subject of boos and groans teeming down from the Emirates Stadium stands, but, according to Arsene Wenger, Andrey Arshavin has been great for Arsenal.

Just like Emmanuel Eboue and Denilson before him, the Russian playmaker has suffered at the hands of the fickle Gunners fans, but Wenger has no regrets over signing the 30-year-old.

“You would not be surprised that I disagree with that criticism of Arshavin,” he insisted last night. “That is opinion. I think he has been great for us and he will still be great in the coming months.

“He is a great player and you have to give him credit for that. He stands up for his performances. I personally respect him highly, he works through it (poor form) by keeping his focus in training and what he does well. I like Andrey because he has a great attitude. It was a difficult game for him on Wednesday and for all the players who played up front because Marseille defended, they played for a point.

“There was not a lot of space for the strikers and as long as you don’t find an opening they will not come out, and that is what happened in the game.”

On that subject, Wenger believes the free-flowing performances synonymous with Arsenal will return with their confidence. The Gunners have enjoyed five wins in their last six matches in all competitions and will look to extend that run when Stoke visit the Emirates tomorrow.

“It depends how you analyse the performances,” he said. “The spirit is there, the attitude is there, the quality of commitment is there, the possession is there, — even in Marseille we had a lot. In the Champions League away from home that’s unusual.

“We have some room for improvement offensively, and that will come with the confidence.

“It is our target to turn things around, that is what we want to achieve. On Sunday we want to especially continue the quality of our game — the result will be the consequence of that. Let’s focus on defending well again and playing our football.”

So are Arsenal turning a corner? “It is down to our results basically,” Wenger replied. “We have played eight games, we have 30 to go so we do not have to look too much at the other results. “What is important is we have a consistent focus and then we will come back. It is down to us.”

While German defender Per Mertesacker has yet to find the net in an Arsenal shirt since his arrival from Werder Bremen in the summer, his manager believes he should be profiting from the number of set-piece sitations Arsenal manufacture.

“I expect some goals on set-pieces from Per because even in Marseille we had nine corners and they had one,” he said. “Out of nine corners away from home you expect to be a bit more dangerous.

“I brought him here for more than this type of game (Stoke) because I feel he is a good player. He is a good organiser, he understands the game, he is an intelligent player and physically he is getting sharper and sharper in every game. He had no real preparation for the season and now you can see we look less nervous at the back and he contributes to that.”

Arsenal will be without full-back Carl Jenkinson, who damaged his knee in the midweek win. Wenger will choose between Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou at right-back.