Arsenal news: Reaction to Man Utd defeat was excessive, we have leaders in every position says Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has told Arsenal’s restless fanbase that showing “solidarity and togetherness” can have a huge impact on the most open Premier League title race in recent memory and has claimed that his team have leaders in every position.

Arsenal’s performance in losing 3-2 to Manchester United on Sunday has been roundly savaged by former players, pundits and fans, with both the character of the players and Wenger’s own position under renewed scrutiny.

Wenger described the reaction as a “bit excessive and emotional” and, with a five point gap to leaders Leicester City, was adamant that Arsenal can still recover to win a first Premier League since 2004. He also urged the players to use the criticism as a motivation against Swansea tomorrow night. “We want to transform the negatives into positives around us and create even more solidarity,” he said.

“Let’s not go overboard. We do not play to be relegated. We are playing to fight for the title. That’s why we have to put criticism in the right place. What you want from your fans is to fight together until the last game of the season.

“What we have learnt from the league is that it is very tight, that everybody can drop points, and the teams - and the fans - who can show togetherness and solidarity until the end, might come out of it in a positive way.

“I have to protect the team from that [criticism] as well. This team has shown a great togetherness since the start of the season and a fantastic spirit. What is for sure is that more and more people talk and we don’t want to listen too much to what people say. We want to focus on what we do.”

Asked specifically about Graeme Souness’s claim that Arsenal “bordered on being a joke” at United and were “weak, insipid and pussy-footed”, Wenger said: “I don’t want to respond to individual criticism. I think people are a bit too emotional and we want to put things into perspective by analysing things a bit more in a neutral way. This club is respected all over the world despite what people say.

“I’m never surprised. Part of the opinion is always a bit excessive and emotional, but we have to deal with that and I don’t complain about it.”

Of the claim that Arsenal lack leaders, Wenger said: “In a collective psyche you always think you need a saviour when you have a bad result. We have won big games this season, many big games with exactly the same players. I don’t feel that I lack leaders.”

Asked who his leaders were, Wenger said: “The team. In every position. The players lead and we try to develop that with our work. Our job is to have a leader in every position. The advantage of the players I had, I know who they are and I like very much the fact that they can compete with what is happening inside the club.

"We have built this club, and it has been built before me, with values. What we try to do is respect these values and when we are disappointed we need to show these values and clarity to fight together. Everybody has freedom of opinion and I enjoy very much that people care about my future. I thank them for that.

“We had a very, very bad week and it’s down to us to make this week a very good one. It’s as simple as that and that’s why you love competition. A bad week is not permanent, it’s what you make of it and how you respond. That’s the beauty of sport. Things change quickly one way or the other. That’s beautiful as well.”

Wenger also confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be out for up to eight weeks with knee ligament damage. “We feared surgery at some stage before we saw the MRI - in the end we got, on that front, positive news - he should be okay for the Euros,” said Wenger.