Arsene Wenger admitted he felt hurt by the lack of faith shown by Arsenal fans during their recent run of poor form. A last gasp 2-1 victory over Leicester City had made Arsenal favourites in many people’s eyes to win the Premier League but defeats to Manchester United, Swansea and a draw to bitter rivals Tottenham has pushed Arsenal behind in the race for the title.
Coupled with a Champions League loss against Barcelona and a surprising FA Cup elimination against Watford, Arsenal do not seem to have a chance to win a trophy this year.All this has led to disgruntled fans calling for their long serving manager Arsene Wenger to be replaced.
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"What hurts me is that at the important moment of the season we played in a sceptical environment," Wenger said after Arsenal got back on track with a comfortable 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
"After the Tottenham game where we played a very good game, played with 10 men against 11 and came back to 2-2, I couldn't understand why - at the moment when you need everyone behind the team - we had to hit that storm.
"From the media, okay. From our fans? It is a bit more difficult to take.
"But we have to get the fans behind us with our attitude, and make sure that they stand behind the team until the end of the season."
Wenger – I took a risk playing Welbeck
Danny Welbeck has been in good form ever since he returned form a long injury layoff. The England international has netted 4 goals in 9 games since his return and the Arsenal boss admitted that he missed Welbeck this season.
"You cannot say you don't miss a player of that stature for nine months," Wenger said.
"I believe [he can make a difference]. I had many hesitations to play him before the game because he is still not completely over his knee problem.
"We have to be cautious but I pushed it because I knew this was now or never [for the title bid].
"I know this team has put in a lot of work since the start of the season, I know how much dedication this team has had over the last eight months and I want them to be rewarded.
"We have gone through a difficult period and it is a good test to see how a team survives after getting so much stick. When I see their response every day, this team deserves credit."
