Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger wants 'respect' from Stoke supporters but doesn't expect any

ARSENE WENGER is bracing himself to face a new cauldron of hate at Stoke.

 



Arsene Wenger's Arsenal have won just once in their last eight trips to the Britannia Stadium



 

The Arsenal boss admits that time has not healed the bitter divide between the two clubs following a horrific tackle by Stoke's Ryan Shawcross in 2010 that sidelined Aaron Ramsey for three months and allegedly left him mentally scarred for three years.

Stoke fans have also never forgiven Wenger for branding their side "a rugby team" when Tony Pulis was the manager. And four City fans followed to abuse him at the local rail station after Arsenal's last game at The Britannia.

That's why the Frenchman, who revealed that Stoke fans' antagonism towards him is worse than at any other club in the Premier League, is resigned to running the gauntlet again this afternoon.

He said: "There has to be a limit, but where is the limit, I don't know.

"In an ideal society you want everybody to respect everybody. I cannot influence that.

 

"You ask me if I can live with and I say I would prefer not to. But if I have to, I will. We do a lot of things in our job that you don't like too much."

Wenger believes it was the Ramsey incident and not his 'rugby team' taunt that has made him football's Public Enemy No 1 in the Potteries.

The Arsenal boss doesn't really understand why Stoke fans boo him so much. But he is certain that it's a whole lot worse than the abuse he gets from Tottenham supporters who are the Gunners fiercest rivals.

He added: "All that really matters is what is happening on the pitch and how well we play. All the rest is just part of it, part of the product, and that was shown at Liverpool last week.

"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. All over Europe people enjoyed the game and that's what matters in the end."