Wenger - I love Arshavin

Arsene Wenger: Has defended Andrey Arshavin from criticism

Arsene Wenger has leapt to the defence of Andrey Arshavin stating that he 'loves' the Arsenal attacker.

The Russian has been the subject of much abuse from fans after a series of uninspired performances for Arsenal this season.

But Wenger insists that the boos when Arshavin came on against Manchester United were in fact directed at the manager for taking off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

He told The Sun: "I love Arshavin as a man and as a player.

"I don't think the fans were too much against him, it was more they wanted Chamberlain to stay on the pitch.

"I didn't take it as booing of Arshavin, I just thought they wanted to keep Chamberlain on the pitch, which we can understand."

The Frenchman also thinks the fans that booed him were in the minority at the Emirates adding: "I'm not bothered by that, frankly. I'm paid to make decisions and you always need someone to make decisions.

"When you have 60,000 people in the stadium there are always 100 or 200 who have different opinions. I have managed many more games than all the other people in the stadium."