• Champions League

Wenger shrugs off abuse from Arsenal fans

Arsene Wenger has shrugged off the abuse directed at him by Arsenal fans after Saturday's defeat at Stoke and has called on them to judge the team at the end of the season.

Arsenal fell behind after only 19 seconds at the Britannia Stadium and were 3-0 down by half-time and, although they pulled two goals back in quick succession after the break, they were unable to salvage a point.

Wenger was later jeered and subjected to some aggressive personal abuse as the players boarded the train back to London, but says he is immune to such criticism.

Arsene Wenger's Arsenal lost 3-2 at Stoke © Getty Images

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Asked whether the dissent from his own fans was wearing him down, Wenger said: "No, not at all. We have to cope with that. We are professional footballers. What is important is the next game and the desire to do it.

"This is my 180th Champions League game and that shows something. Let's get our stability back and see at the end of the season where we are.

"I am a competitive person. What is important is the next game. We cannot always look for excuses. We are down. Everyone feels it. When you have a disappointment you have to respond in a strong way."

Wenger also pinpointed defensive weaknesses as Arsenal's undoing at Stoke but hopes the fans will be realistic about individual results.

"Look, the response after a defeat is always very important. What we want is to come back quickly to a strong defensive performance, what we had before the game [on Saturday]'' said Wenger, whose side are sixth in the Premier League table.

"We showed a lack of experience defensively [at Stoke], but we could have scored four or five goals in this game and the team response during this game was quite strong.

"For the rest, you expect that everyone is disappointed after that result, but the Premier League is difficult.

"We want to be judged at the end of the season, not after every single game where it is normal that emotion is always very high, so let us get our stability back defensively and see at the end of the season where we are.''

Wenger also took the unusual step of naming his starting XI for Arsenal's Champions League clash against Galatasaray in the pre-match news conference.

"To make it as simple as possible, I have 11 experienced players and six young field players on the bench. That means I have nothing to hide,'' said Wenger, whose team must win and then hope Borussia Dortmund lose to finish top of the group.

Full-back Mathieu Debuchy returns from three months out with an ankle injury, while Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers will also play. Lukas Podolski, Yaya Sanogo and Joel Campbell will lead the attack.

With Arsenal already qualified for the last 16, Wenger opted to leave several of his star players behind in London, including Alexis Sanchez.

Wenger added: "The players who needed it stayed behind - like [Santi] Cazorla, Sanchez, [Kieran] Gibbs - [Olivier] Giroud is not qualified - and [Danny] Welbeck, who could have travelled but recently had a little knee problem, so took advantage of that to rest him.

"Sanchez had a groin problem for some time, and he has played 27 games ... it is more just the number of repetitive games we have.''

Wenger, meanwhile, confirmed midfielder Jack Wilshere is continuing his rehabilitation as planned following ankle surgey.

"How long will Wilshere be out? Three months, and he had no setback,'' said Wenger. "He is just in a boot, he cannot have a setback because he does not practise.''

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd