Wenger blames slow start on World Cup

Arsene Wenger claims his young Arsenal players were rocked by a World Cup hangover at the start of the season.

Fledgling players such as Cesc Fabregas, 19, Philippe Senderos, 21, Johan Djourou, 19, and Theo Walcott, 17, were among those on international duty in Germany.

Wenger said: "We were disturbed by the World Cup. We had a lot of very young players away and it took them a lot of time to recover."

He added: "Then, the international schedule has gone completely crazy. I never saw the players.

"This is the first week I have had with them since the beginning of the season.

"I told them to be faithful to the way we want to play. We do not have to question the way we play, we have to do what we do better."

Arsenal started the Premiership season with two draws and a defeat but stopped the rot with a 1-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday.

Emmanuel Adebayor's late winner was created by Fabregas, who looks to have recovered from his busy summer with Spain at the World Cup.

Wenger said: "Fabregas was absolutely outstanding. He did not stop from the first minute to the last.

"His passing was fantastic. He defends, he attacks. In the last five minutes, he was still in the box. He was amazing. But I think every player did well. We have shown a lot of mental strength."