However, Wenger believes the real hostility dates back to the controversial fall-out when Aaron Ramsey suffered a broken leg after a challenge from Ryan Shawcross in February 2010.
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Following Leicester City’s 1-1 draw at struggling Aston Villa, Arsenal have the opportunity to go two points clear at the top of the Premier League table with victory.
“Spread across five different clubs Mark Hughes is yet to taste defeat on home soil as a manager with Arsene Wenger in the opposite dug-out and I expect that unbeaten record to continue in the Potteries”.
“Yes – I don’t know why [there is more antipathy from Stoke fans]. We hope for maybe an under-21 game or at least a bit more training with the first team”.
Wenger acknowledges Stoke have changed their approach under Mark Hughes from the more in-your-face days under Tony Pulis – but the fans’ aggression will be the same.
“Is it worse than Tottenham?” “I think the major incident was not that [rugby] comment”. “Arsenal is one of the world’s greatest teams, and I am very keen to participate positively with my new team, God willing, and to give my best for the team and for myself….”I would like to tell [the fans] that, although you have not seen much of me, I promise I will contribute positively with the team. I don’t bully them”.
Wenger says that while he did not take the verbal abuse he received personally he does believes such behaviour is a growing problem that stems from social media.
In September, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud sealed Stoke’s fate at the Emirates, but Hughes is building a team with players that look comfortable up against the league’s elite. “They play out from the back, they’ve improved a lot in the quality of their build-up game”.
“It happens to me at the [Emirates] stadium, as well”.
“People can say, ‘At the end of the day, you should not have conceded that goal, ‘ but what is the most important is that people have seen a fantastic football game”.
However, Wenger said the incident was exaggerated. The fact that people are not happy, I can live with that.
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“In our job, it’s a balance always to find between the masochistic trend that you get and the right to exert your passion”.
