Wenger calls for unity as fans revolt

LONDON – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has told the club’s unhappy fans he will bring happier times back to the club after Swansea City beat them 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Saturday’s defeat followed a protest outside the ground by hundreds of supporters who are angry with the board of directors for constantly selling star players to Champions League rivals.Arsenal were also booed off at the final whistle, which confirmed they had dropped to 10th place in the Premier League – three places below Swansea – but Wenger was confident he could steer the club out of its current predicament.’We are in this job to turn it round and I am confident we will because of the quality of the players and the spirit we have in the team, so it is a good moment to stick together,’ he said.’At the moment we are consistent away from home – our results are positive – but at home we haven’t produced the performances since the start of the season that you would expect from us, and that’s why we have to find a solution.’At the moment it looks like we are playing with the handbrake on at home and it’s not fluent, what we do. There might be a psychological component in there as well.’Of course it hurts but I am not so much worried about the places, even though of course that (10th place) is not where we want to be.’I believe that what is important is to get the quality of our game back. That is much more important.’And when the Frenchman was asked whether he felt his lengthy spell at the club might be coming to an end, he insisted he would still be in charge at the end of the campaign.’You make your assessment at the end of the season, like I said many times,’ he said. ‘I know at the moment there is a lot of unrest everywhere, but I believe it’s a good opportunity to show we are a strong club.’Swansea had been arguably the better side before Michu, the Spanish forward, scored twice in the last three minutes, converting breakaway one-on-ones on both occasions.Michael Laudrup, the Swansea manager, said afterwards that this weekend’s winning feeling was no sweeter than any other, however.’For me it is not more special than winning at QPR or Newcastle,’ he said.’It’s more for the people on the outside, the media and the fans, but for me, every away game is so difficult. But it is December and we have already won three (away games), so that is great for a club like us.’Manchester United moved three points clear at the Premier League summit after beating Reading 4-3 in a remarkable game on Saturday, which was to prove a day of despair for Chelsea and Arsenal.All the goals came before half-time at the Madejski Stadium, equalling the Premier League record for first-half goals, as United overcame their defensive frailties to draw away from Manchester City – held 1-1 by Everton – ahead of next weekend’s Manchester derby.Chelsea are now 10 points off the pace in third place after seeing their run without victory stretch to seven games in a 3-1 defeat at West Ham United.A 75th-minute goal by Dean Whitehead gave Stoke City a 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion, and Tottenham Hotspur capitalised on the Baggies’ setback to move into fourth place with a 3-0 win at Fulham.Liverpool climbed one place to 11th after Daniel Agger’s 43rd-minute header secured a 1-0 success at home to Southampton. – Nampa-AFP