Arsene Wenger has backed Emmanuel Eboue to recover and silence the Arsenal boo-boys.
Wenger backs midfielder to silence boo-boys
Arsene Wenger has backed Emmanuel Eboue to recover and silence the Arsenal boo-boys.
The Ivory Coast international will start Arsenal's UEFA Champions League game against Porto on Wednesday despite being jeered by his own supporters at the weekend.
Eboue came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Wigan but had to be replaced himself after a poor display saw him singled out for criticism by the fans.
Wenger believes Eboue has the right mentality to handle such criticism and has urged his player to turn in a good performance at the Estadio do Dragao.
The Arsenal boss said: "Emmanuel Eboue will start. He is completely in the right frame of mind.
"Of course he was disappointed for a few days but football is magic because you have the next game and in that you have the opportunity to show how good you are."
Fortunate
Wenger feels Gunners fans should get behind Eboue and has reminded supporters of how fortunate they are to be watching such an exciting young team.
He explained: "You can understand everything when you are in football. However, you want your fans to be behind the team for 90 minutes.
"After the game, everyone is entitled to have an opinion. We accept any opinion at the club and are open to everyone's opinion.
"But no matter what happens you still want your fans to be behind the team during the 90 minutes.
"I believe they [the fans] have been swayed by the scepticism from the media which has affected their belief, which can have consequences on the team.
"I believe that they are lucky to have an extremely young team with a magnificent talent who can do extremely well.
"These players want to do well, they have the potential to do well, and they can fight against the scepticism.
"There is only one way for the fans to help that. You want your fans to be behind the team because they deserve it."
