Arsenal vs Everton: Arsene Wenger eager to banish trauma of Monaco defeat

Wenger said the Gunners have 'massive games' in front of them

Arsène Wenger watches the painful defeat to Monaco (AP)

Arsène Wenger hopes to get Arsenal’s season back on track today with the visit of Everton to the Emirates, just four days after their traumatic 3-1 defeat to Monaco in the Champions League.

Despite that result, Wenger trusts in his team’s home form to qualify for next season’s Champions League. Arsenal have won their last six straight Premier League games, a run stretching back to November, and another win today would strengthen their hold on third place.

“We have massive games in front of us and we have played two times away from home more than at home, so we the way we play at home is vital,” Wenger said at his pre-match press conference on Friday morning. “The reactions today are always very emotional but life is not always on a high. You have to go through lows and highs, and at the end of the day it is about how consistent you have been in response to disappointments that makes your life.”

Theo Walcott should return to the starting 11, having been on the bench on Wednesday, and Wenger said that particular selection came in for excessive scrutiny because Walcott is English: “I always had world-class players on the bench. When they are not English they provoke less interest. We had Nwankwo Kanu, Sylvain Wiltord, sometimes on the bench, Robert Pires, but it is not so much a public debate when they are not English.”

While Wenger would not go into “individual assessment”, he implied that benching Walcott was more about “team balance” and the superior defensive work of Danny Welbeck.

Polish teenager Krystian Bielik is finally able to play for Arsenal, more than one month after his £2m arrival from Legia Warsaw. The 17-year-old was only finally fully registered this week, and has yet to play a single minute.