Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has defended calling rivals Stoke City ‘old fashioned’.

It is no secret that Arsenal are not particularly of fond of playing against Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium and the Gunners’ record of having claimed only one victory in their last ten visits to the venue serves as a testament to this fact.

In addition to their poor record at the Britannia, a rivalry has brewed between the two sets of fans following the horror challenge from Ryan Shawcross which broke Aaron Ramsey’s leg back in 2010 and there is certainly a lot of hostility between Arsenal and Stoke at the moment.

To anger the Potters’ faithful last season, Arsene Wenger hinted that Stoke City are an ‘old-fashioned’ team following a 0-0 draw between the two sides and the comments have resurfaced as Arsenal prepare to take on their adversaries at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

Wenger’s comments were seen as very disrespectful towards Stoke but the Frenchman has now gone on to defend himself by explaining that such remarks were not meant to be insulting.

Wenger did not intend to insult Stoke

As quoted by the Stoke Sentinel, Wenger said, "It's possible (I said that Stoke made the 0-0 draw in January an old-fashioned battle). I don't regret saying that.

“What's wrong with an old-fashioned battle? When you have complete commitment it makes the English Premier League special. I would say that in my mind, in my spirit, it was not negative at all."

While Arsenal may struggle at the Britannia Stadium, their record against Stoke at the Emirates is impeccable and even though the Potters will be fired up, the Gunners look a good bet to claim all three points this weekend as well.