Defenders´ Paradise postponed no problem: Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Kolo Toure and William Gallas “do not have to go to Paradise together” as long as they work well on the field at the centre of the Gunners’ defence.

Arsenal have only conceded five goals in their last 15 matches but that record has not led to a thaw in relations between the two centre-backs.

Ivory Coast international Toure, who almost quit the north London club after handing in a January transfer request, took over the captaincy at the Emirates from injured midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Gallas was stripped of the captaincy by his fellow Frenchman Wenger after publicly questioning the attitude of his team-mates.

Toure has admitted he doesn’t get on well with Gallas off the pitch but Wenger, speaking ahead of this weekend’s match with Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers, said on Friday: “What is important is that when you are professionals, you play together.

“To be professional is to do what it takes for your team to be successful, not more than that – it does not mean that you go to Paradise together.

“You have big examples of players who did not get on very well, but that does not mean they cannot play together,” he added.

“In football, you can take a Russian and an American, at the highest period of tension, and they can play very well together because sport demands the analysis of a situation in a fraction of a second, and both can have that even if they do not speak.

“The most important thing is the big players respect the game.

“They put the respect for the game at a higher level than any other situation – if the game needs me to give you the ball now, even if I do not like you, then I give you the ball.”

Both Toure and Gallas were involved as Arsenal won through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a tense penalty shoot-out win away to Roma in Wednesday.

Eduardo has been ruled out of this weekend’s match against a Blackburn side that recently climbed out of the bottom three after suffering a groin strain in Rome but Russia midfielder Andrei Arshavin is available after being cup-tied.

Arsenal are now just three points behind Aston Villa in their quest for a fourth-place domestic finish which would guarantee them a place in next season’s edition of European club football’s premier competition.

The Gunners have often been accused of being a skilled but frail side and so vulnerable to the physical approach of a team like Blackburn.

But Wenger, often infuriated by such comments, insisted: “I take more into account their style of play than the fact Blackburn are physical – we can cope with the physical demands and we showed that on Wednesday night (against Roma).

Arsenal’s last three Premier League matches at the Emirates have ended in draws and Wenger said: “We want to transform our home draws into wins, and we have a good opportunity to do that.

“If we are consistent, then we will be ahead of Villa at the end of the season.”