The Frenchman was jeered by a small group of Arsenal fans as he boarded a train following his team’s 3-2 loss at Stoke City last Saturday, in scenes widely condemned within the football community.
That loss meant Wenger’s side were unable to take advantage of league leaders Chelsea’s first defeat of the season and left the north London club in sixth spot, 13 points adrift of the head of the table.
A title challenge now seems unlikely and while Arsenal reacted positively by winning 4-1 at Galatasaray in the Champions League in mid-week, Wenger remains under scrutiny.
In particular, he has been criticised for his failure to strengthen his defence during the last transfer window, although the manager can point to an alarming run of injuries to key players this season.
To make matters worse, Wenger has risked angering frustrated fans even more by saying the under-performing London club do not need any January signings if everyone in the current squad stays fit. “If everybody is fit and available, we don’t need to go into transfer market,” he said.
A victory over Alan Pardew’s upwardly mobile Newcastle will be the best way to silence the doubters, and midfielder Aaron Ramsey says the players are fully behind their manager.
“It was important to bounce back from that [Stoke defeat] defeat and we did that,” said the Wales international. Every player here wants to work hard for the manager. “We proved that again on Tuesday night [against Galatasaray].
“He has been under some unfair criticism, but we are we are in it together. We wanted to get the result for us and for him.”
Schurrle committed to Chelsea
Andre Schurrle has dismissed any suggestion he might leave Chelsea during the January transfer window after overcoming a long-standing illness.
Schurrle first felt the effects of a virus in Brazil during Germany’s successful World Cup campaign but the winger believes he is now nearing a return to full fitness ahead of Hull’s visit to Stamford Bridge today.
And after being used largely as a fringe player by Blues boss Jose Mourinho, the former Bayer Leverkusen star is keen to re-establish himself as a central figure after scoring in Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League victory over Sporting Lisbon.
“The illness has lasted weeks and weeks. Even during the World Cup my body didn’t feel that good,” Schurrle told Standard Sport. “I’m not where I want to be but I feel better and you could see I was very motivated against Sporting.”
Pellegrini sees European boost for City
Manuel Pellegrini has told his Manchester City stars to build on their impressive European escape act as they look to overhaul Premier League leaders Chelsea.
City’s 2-0 victory at Roma on Wednesday allowed them to secure an improbable place in the last 16 of the Champions League after they had failed to win any of their first four group games.
But it is defending the Premier League title that is now top priority for Pellegrini to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea, who are only three points clear of the champions after losing their unbeaten record at Newcastle last weekend.
“The most important thing now is to switch. We have finished with the Champions League and don’t have to worry about that until February,” said Pellegrini ahead of the trip to bottom of the table Leicester.
“We have to play four more games in the Premier League in December which are very important to try to continue to count points up on Chelsea. We have 12 more points in December and that’s what our minds must be focused on 100%.”
Today’s fixtures
Burnley v Soton
Chelsea v Hull City
Crystal Palace v Stoke City
Leicester City v Man City
Sunderland v West Ham
West Brom v Aston Villa
Arsenal v Newcastle
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2014.
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