WENGER’S WARNING
Stoke fans will go Potty
ARSENE WENGER has been warned to pack his earplugs for the trip to Stoke today.
The Arsenal boss is already public enemy No.1 with Stoke fans and there will be another 2,500 more in the ground today. One end of the notoriously vocal bet365 Stadium has been extended, meaning the Potters will have their biggest crowd in almost 30 years.
Boss Mark Hughes has revealed there’s a simmering anger at the club over the flak they’ve been taking. Wenger has never been forgiven for branding Stoke a ‘rugby team’ and there have been a series of high-octane encounters between the sides.
Hughes said: “We feel people are taking a few cheap shots at the club, the owners, me and the players – and it all builds up.
“We feel some of the criticism is unfair and unbalanced, and we don’t like that.
“Will the negativity motivate us? I think we’re at that point. Arsenal coming maybe helps.
Respond
“I have been here when Stoke fans have felt aggrieved by the opposition or by individual players or by referees.
“Once they feel we’re not getting a fair crack of the whip, then we come together and we respond to that.
“You don’t need too much motivating here, certainly to have a go at Arsenal.”
Hughes, whose side started the season with a defeat at Everton last week, added: “When our fans get behind the team from minute one to the last, then there’s no more intimidating place.
“We’re at a point where people want to show that others can’t take liberties with what we’re doing or even question us.”
The addition of Darren Fletcher, Kurt Zouma and Jese Rodriguez has strengthened his squad and Hughes added: “In my view our potential this year is higher than last.”