Arsène Wenger says he wouldn't swap Arsenal's position for Manchester City's - Telegraph.co.uk

For all his relentless public focus on the positives, Wenger has never been under greater scrutiny during his 16 years at Arsenal. After the loss against Swansea, there were also heated dressing-room exchanges but Wenger suggested yesterday that he was pleased to see some emotion from his players.

"Nothing really happened," he said. "Do you want them to dance after a game we lost? On one side you can't say you want them to care and be passionate. I would be more worried if I see them laughing in the shower after we lost. We were naive against Swansea, we wanted so much to win that we forgot first not to lose."

Wenger also believes that he has been misunderstood over his reference to the physical tiredness of players, with Match of the Day's Phil Neville among the many pundits to point out that other teams were coping with a similar schedule. "People don't understand tiredness very well in England," he said. "They think you can only be tired at the end of season. It's a lack of freshness. It is not an excuse. That we were not fresh is only a part of the explanation.

"At the moment it is fashionable to be against Arsenal, so every single word you say people turn it against you. It's superficial analysis of things to turn it against you when it suits you. It doesn't stop me saying what I truly believe. I have one pressure: to win football matches and to play the football I love."

Wenger's concerns about the freshness in his squad, allied to Arsenal's guaranteed progress in the Champions League, will lead to sweeping changes against Olympiakos in Athens on Tuesday night.

Mikel Arteta, Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Jack Wilshere have all remained in London. Jernade Meade is likely to make his debut at left-back while Chuba Akpom, Martin Angha, Zak Ansah, Sead Hajrovic, Elton Montiero and James Shea have also travelled despite having never played in either the Premier League or Champions League.

With the January transfer window approaching, Andrei Arshavin, Sébastien Squillaci and Marouane Chamakh will also have what might amount to a final chance to salvage their Arsenal careers.