Galatasaray vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger wants to be judged at end of the season

The Gunners slipped to defeat against Stoke in embarrassing fashion

Arsene Wenger was verbally abused by fans following the defeat to Arsenal (Getty Images)

Arsène Wenger has demanded that judgement on his faltering team be suspended until the end of the season as the under-pressure manager fought off criticism following Saturday’s painful defeat at Stoke City.

Arsenal play Galatasaray on Tuesday night, needing a win to have any chance of topping their Champions League group, having already qualified. The game is more important not for that slim possibility but for a response to Saturday’s defeat. Wenger insisted that the team’s defence – which will include Mathieu Debuchy after nearly three months out – will be stronger.

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This was Wenger’s first appearance since he was harangued by Arsenal fans at Stoke-on-Trent train station on Saturday evening, and he was clear in his denial that the abuse bothered him. “It is not wearing me down, not at all,” Wenger said in his press conference here yesterday afternoon. “We have to cope with that. We are professional footballers and football people, and I am a competitive person. What is important is the next game, and responding in a strong way.”

Arsenal’s season is far from over – they are sixth in the league and in the Champions League knockout stages – and Wenger implored fans to wait until May before the team are judged. “We want to be judged at the end of the season, not after every game when emotion is high. Let us get our stability back and see at the end of the season where we are.”

Even if Arsenal win on Tuesday they will still need Borussia Dortmund to lose at home to Anderlecht to win the group, and so Wenger is resting players. Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck, Kieran Gibbs and Santi Cazorla all stayed at home, Lukas Podolski, Joel Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Hector Bellerin will start, while Debuchy and Wojciech Szczesny return from injury.

“We have 11 experienced players and six young players on the bench,” Wenger said. “What we want is to come back quickly to a strong defensive performance. Against Stoke, we showed a lack of experience defensively.”

Chuba Akpom, the 19-year-old striker, and 17-year-old midfielder Gedion Zelalem will be among the substitutes, and Wenger has also chosen the lesser-known Stefan O’Connor and Ainsley Maitland-Niles. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who made his own Champions League debut as an 18-year-old in 2011, predicted that they would cope. “You have to be challenged at some point,” he said. “They all have good quality, they are all good lads and they can prove to the boss that they are good players.”