Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists that there is no "bad blood" between his side and Stoke City going into the weekend's Pr...
Goal reported that while the Gunners have had a series of run-ins with Stoke in the past on the pitch - including the leg-breaking tackle Aaron Ramsey endured from Ryan Shawcross in 2010 - Wenger thinks Stoke "know how to behave" in the modern day. The Frenchman was complimentary of Mark Hughes' new-look squad and is expecting a tough test this weekend.
He said: "They are team with a good culture of the Premier League. They know how to behave and they have experience as they have been here a long time in the Premier League.
"They have (Ibrahim) Afellay, Bojan, (Xherdan) Shaqiri, (Mame Biram) Diouf up front and Charlie Adam in midfield. They have a lot of technical players that can give you problems.
"They have always had good teams and overall when we go to Stoke they are always especially motivated against us. There is history a little bit because of what happened and overall it was always very difficult for us.
"For me there was never bad blood, it was just a game that was always very difficult for us to play. But I always focus on playing football and trying to get my team to play as well as we can."
Wenger also came out in support of striker Olivier Giroud ahead of the game, after he was booed by French international supporters during the recent fixture against Serbia. The manager believes it is part and parcel of the game, but he has no concerns.
He added: "He has my full support and I believe that is part of being a striker. There is no striker in the world who has not been questioned. When he missed a chances and is booed, that can happen."
