Football
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Arsene Wenger urges fans to stand with Arsenal after Monaco loss

LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has urged the club's supporters to stand by his team after their latest hugely disappointing result in the Champions League against Monaco.

Arsenal's 3-1 home defeat in the last-16 of Europe's elite competition sparked a fresh wave of criticism for Wenger and his players, but he hopes the Emirates Stadium faithful will continue to back the players as they head into Sunday's Premier League game against Everton.

"You are not a fan for one game, you are a fan of this club," stated Wenger. "No matter how good your team is, you play 55 games a year and you have moments where you are disappointed.

"Look, we have played over 180 games in the Champions League and we have fought very hard against Besiktas just to qualify at the start of this season. You could see that Besiktas is a good team as they beat Liverpool [in the Europa League on Thursday]. So we have won some big games. What is frustrating is we go out in the last-16 for the last four years, but twice against the future winners of the competition.

"We have to keep a balance. We are third in the league, we are on a good run and there is no obvious reason not to support the team. We want to finish this season in a strong way. We are still in the Champions League, don't rule us out too quickly and we are on a good run in the Premier League."

Arsenal's defeat against Monaco formed part of a terrible week for English clubs in European competitions, with Manchester City well beaten in the Champions League by Barcelona and Tottenham and Liverpool dumped out of the Europa League on Thursday.

"It has been a terrible week for English clubs in Europe," reflected Wenger. "I have no rational explanation for that. It is a shock and is there any rationality behind that, I don't know."

Wenger also offered his views on the prospect of the World Cup final being played on December 23rd in Qatar in 2022, as he suggested the disruption to Premier League clubs may not be as troublesome as some have suggested.

"I am already every day of my life watching a football game, so that date is not a problem for me," added Wenger with a smile.

"I don't think it will impact too much if you have to reorganise the Premier League. If a World Cup is successful, then that is important. It is a festival of football and it has to be organised in decent conditions, which would not have been the case in the summer.

"If we are to play the World Cup in Qatar, it would not be safe for people to attend in the summer. That is why this is the only sensible decision to make."

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