Football
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Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: Aaron Ramsey needs to put teammates first

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Aaron Ramsey needs to focus on helping the team rather than thinking about scoring goals as he struggles to regain his form from last season.

Ramsey, 23, won plenty of plaudits for his performances last term, with his goals from midfield proving to be of huge importance to the Gunners.

However, the Wales international, who netted the winner in May's FA Cup final against Hull, has struggled to reproduce that form this time around, with his season having been affected by injury.

"He has to keep his priorities right. He needs to help the team. It's not about goal scoring," Wenger told a news conference ahead of Sunday's trip to Swansea.

Wenger also went on to speak about Theo Walcott, who has recently returned to the Arsenal squad having been sidelined with injury since January.

The winger has so far been limited to an appearance off the bench against Burnley, but the Gunners boss hinted he could make the starting XI against Swansea. Wenger also gave his blessing to England boss Roy Hodgson to use Walcott as he pleases for England's upcoming games against Slovenia and Scotland.

"He is in the squad. He can start if I decide to start him," Wenger said. "He needs playing time. Roy Hodgson is free to do what he wants."

Arsenal's last outing saw them relinquish a three-goal lead in the Champions League against Anderlecht to draw 3-3, with the Gunners' defence coming in for plenty of criticism afterwards.

Wenger concedes the Gunners were poor at the back, but he is hopeful his side will learn from their mistakes going forward.

"We are very positive inside the camp. We are not affected by negativity. We are not happy when we don't win but that's it."

"We can learn a lot from what happened on Tuesday," he said.

"We have special incidents. Some things we can correct, like the second and third goals. But we cannot influence the first goal. When the goalscorers are one yard offside, we cannot influence that.

"Every time we go to Geneva, (Pierluigi) Collina (UEFA's chief refereeing officer) explains to us that the fifth referee is a fantastic finding.

"But when you see the pictures on the first goal, it is unbelievable. A guy stands behind the line in front of the offside guy and does not stay a word.

"I do not know what the guys behind the line are paid for. That is a general feeling shared by everyone who watches football. They should buy a seat for them, and give them a good book!"

Wenger also labelled any of the criticism aimed at his side following the slip-up as "predictable" after former Gunners favourite Paul Merson said the team were "tactically clueless".

"If you are 3-0 up and get back to 3-3, you always get the same," he said when asked about the criticism.

"I have managed 2000 games and can anticipate what people will say. If you defend and get back to 3-3, people will ask why you defend and not continue to play a normal game. If you continue to attack, people ask why you attack. It is so predictable.

"We are very positive inside the camp. We are not touched by that [the negativity]. Inside the camp we are very positive and are not touched by that. When we do not win, we are not happy. The rest, we can live with."

Information from the Press Association was used in this report.

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