‘Extreme’ fans won’t faze me, says Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has vowed he will not be swayed by “extreme opinions” on the terraces from Gunners fans.

Arsenal head to Everton tonight looking to close the gap between themselves and the top four of the Premier League, but a sustained bid for the title already looks out of reach as they trail Manchester United by 10 points.

Some sections of the Arsenal support voiced their disapproval during the goalless draw at Aston Villa on Saturday — with chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” greeting the second-half substitution of striker Olivier Giroud for defensive midfielder Francis Coquelin.

Wenger, though, insists focus of doing the job required on the pitch will remain unmoved.

“In the modern media service, the extreme opinions are picked and sold like a majority, what (that) is not always the case,” the Arsenal manager said.

“Those who shout the loudest are usually presented because they are interesting and easy to sell, but they do not represent the majority always of opinions.

“That some fans are not happy when you play 0-0 at Aston Villa, I can understand, because I am not happy. I want to win the game as well, but I do not share the fact that always the minority is presented like everyone thinks like them.”

Despite not having won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup, off the field the Arsenal brand remains strong and long-term partners Emirates Airlines last week agreed a lucrative sponsorship extension which will earn the club around £30m (€37m) annually.

Some of that revenue has been frontloaded to come in the current financial year and so increase Wenger’s summer transfer budget, which has already been boosted by the £24m sale of former captain Robin van Persie to Manchester United.

Wenger believes this strong financial footing will ultimately help the club hang onto top stars like Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and former captain Robin van Persie, who have all left the club for better deals elsewhere.

“We are now going towards a period where we will be able to compete again financially with other clubs.”

But Wenger has vowed that the club will spend the cash from Emirates “in the right way”.

After a positive start Everton have struggled for wins in recent weeks, with Norwich’s last-gasp equaliser on Saturday making it five draws in seven games.

Yet Arsenal are the last team to beat the Toffees at Goodison in the league, last March. Since then they are 10 unbeaten on home turf and although a run of one win in their last seven matches has curtailed what was a promising start to the campaign, manager David Moyes is confident it has given them a platform on which to build their season.

“A club like Everton are not out of their depth in Europe and we have to try to push to do that as we’ve missed out the last couple of years. We have been playing quite well and no-one gets an easy time at Goodison.”