AW "I am grateful he (Kroenke) has confidence in my abilities to sort our problems out, it’s not easy to find in football, never need to panic, panic doesn't solve problems!" Mertesacker “I always wanted to play here in the 'motherland' of football; I’m looking forward to derby day!” Szczesny talks! Montolivo to sign? Lucho “I wanted to join AFC!” Boudebouz Linked!

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has welcomed the public support of the club's majority shareholder Stan Kroenke.

Kroenke's comments were warmly received by Wenger himself.

"I am grateful he has confidence in my abilities to sort our problems out because that is not easy to find in football," he said.

"When you find [that confidence] it gives you a chance as a manager. There is never need to panic, panic doesn't solve problems."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he's always regarded Tottenham as their greatest rivals.

Spurs are threatening the power shift in North London today.

Wenger said: "To me, they (Tottenham) have always been direct rivals every year we have played them.

"They always have good teams. They had (David) Ginola and (Teddy) Sheringham. They had always great players.

"But we are at the end of September and the season finishes in May. Don't come to quick conclusions, there is a long way to go."

• Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny insists criticism this season has not affected him.

Szczesny insists he is not affected by outsiders’ comments - good or bad.

“Whether people praise or criticise you just try to be focused and do your job as well as you can,” he said.

“I don't really pay attention to any criticism.

“I do feel that maybe there has been a little bit too much but we're going to deal with that.

“I am an Arsenal fan myself and it means something special to me to beat Tottenham,” he added.

“Especially at White Hart Lane, it just gives it a bit more taste. It is a special game for the players as well.”

• German international Per Mertesacker has labelled the Premier League as the 'motherland' of football.

Speaking ahead of Sunday's North London derby, the Arsenal stopper says he loves the passion of the English fans and the atmosphere in the stadiums.

The 27-yer-old centre-half was part of the team that thrashed England 4-1 in the World Cup in 2010 and it was the experience of that game that cemented his desire to move from the Bundesliga.

"England scored more than just one goal," Mertesackersaid, referring to the Lampard goal that never was.

"We were very lucky in many situations but it was great feeling to beat England in the World Cup. The supporters were very close to the pitch and there were many England fans there.

"It was that day I thought, 'England must be the place for me to play.

He revealed he is an unlikely boyhood Gunners fan after visiting family in England on holiday.

"When I looked back, I saw the pictures of me in the shirts and when I signed for Arsenal I got a few text messages from some of my friends in my old youth team," he said. "The story has come full circle."

"England is the motherland and if there ever was a chance to come to this country then it was always going to be to sign for this club."

Arsenal's new signing will sample the atmosphere of an English derby first hand in Sunday's match against Tottenham.

"I've heard a lot about the derbies [against Tottenham] and I'm looking forward to it," he said.

"I played at White Hart Lane for Werder Bremen in the Champions League. It's good that I've played there but I think it will be different on Sunday."

• Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has told Manchester City to forget about trying for Robin van Persie.

City have raided Wenger's team for four players since the Abu Dhabi takeover and have an eye on Van Persie as a replacement for rebel striker Carlos Tevez, possibly in January.

They know the Arsenal captain has less than two years on his Emirates contract and has confirmed he has no plans to discuss a new deal before the end of the season.

"Robin is under contract until 2013," said the Arsenal boss, still smarting at the manner of Samir Nasri's move to the Etihad Stadium.

"Why should we sell players in January? Man City already has problems because they have too many strikers. They pay half the league for them to play somewhere. Why should they want to buy strikers? It's difficult to understand."

• The Argentina midfielder was high on Arsene Wenger's list of possible replacements for Barcelona-bound Cesc Fabregas, while Malaga and Roma also expressed an interest in signing him.

But the 30-year-old ended up staying at Stade Velodrome, as the French side's asking price was not met.

'I actually wanted to leave Marseille. Various clubs were interested but we were unable to reach an agreement,' Lucho said.

'The reality of the market is that not many clubs are able to pay €10million. But I made a commitment that if I left, it was necessary for Marseille to benefit.

'That was not the case and the chapter is closed. Today I am happy to be here.'

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps revealed in August that he had turned down an offer from Arsenal to take the former Porto and River Plate star on loan, but it is not known whether the Gunners followed up their interest with a cash bid.