Eboue abuse riles Wenger

Arsene Wenger has backed Emmanuel Eboue to win over the Arsenal fans who barracked him mercilessly in their nervy 1-0 victory over Wigan.

The Ivory Coast international was subjected to vicious and sustained abuse from the majority of a capacity Emirates stadium crowd after making a string of mistakes against the Latics on Saturday.

After playing yet another misplaced pass, his nadir came when he bizarrely tackled his own player, Kolo Toure, on the half-way line and then gifted possession to Wigan as Arsenal frantically tried to defend the lead given them by Emmanuel Adebayor's 16th-minute goal.

Eboue, who had come on as a 33rd-minute substitute, was replaced moments later, to wildly sarcastic cheers from the stands, with Wenger admitting that he feared the player – who was fielded out of position on the left side of midfield – was about to cost his team two precious points.

But the French manager instead focussed his criticism on the supporters who contributed to Eboue's abject loss of confidence and insisted the player, who stormed straight down the tunnel after being withdrawn, would return stronger.

“It was a difficult decision but he had completely lost his confidence,” he said. “He couldn't keep the ball any more and had become a danger. It was very sad but the important thing was that we won the game.

“I wanted to keep him on but you have to think about the team in these situations.

“I can understand him going straight down the tunnel because the crowd were very hard on him. When you're a fan, you're behind the players and that's what you want them to do.

“But I think he will come back and show how good a player he is. He's a sensitive boy who wants to do well and he cares about the club. I believe the same fans will applaud him when he does well.”

The plight of Eboue overshadowed a precious, but hardly emphatic, victory for Arsenal, which sustained their faint hopes of reclaiming the Premier League title.

Arsenal may have recorded famous wins against Manchester United and Chelsea this term, but they have struggled to swat aside the lesser lights and this win at least showed that Wenger's side can scrap their way to victory when necessary.

“It was a nervy game because we didn't finish things off,” Wenger added. “We played with the handbrake on because of our recent history but there have been times when we have played well and didn't win.

“We beat Chelsea last week and we knew this was as big a game because we had to show we could win back to back.”

Victory was assured when Adebayor swept in from close range early on, although the lead could have been extended had Robin van Persie not twice fired wide of the post, or Adebayor and Denilson not struck it either side of half-time.

Wigan manager Steve Bruce still bore a frustrated look in the aftermath, having seen Mario Melchiot waste a good chance to equalise late on, and his mood was hardly helped by more speculation about the future of Emile Heskey.

The Latics striker is out of contract at the end of the season and has been linked with moves to Liverpool and Aston Villa as he seeks to a move to a Champions League contender.

Bruce, however, is adamant that Heskey will only leave the JJB stadium if he receives a “mind-blowing offer”, with Wigan believed to value their talismanic centre-forward at around eight million pounds.

“We've got an England centre-forward and we play around him – where can I find another one like him?” Bruce asked.

“Unless it's a mind-blowing offer, we don't want to sell. A two or three million pounds offer, and it's no way. We'll just have to see what happens.

“I know what can happen if you decide to sell. When I was at Huddersfield, we cashed in on Marcus Stewart for three million pounds and the club folded. They were relegated and haven't recovered since.

“We've got the makings of a great side here and now the question is whether we can keep hold of them all. But I want to stress that the chairman has made it very clear that I'll be under no pressure to cash in on anyone.”