Arsene Wenger has restated his commitment to Arsenal after a week in which critics questioned whether he might walk away from the club.

The Arsenal manager criticised the approach taken by Stoke City, who he accused of deliberately targeting his players during the 2-1 defeat at the Britannia Stadium. A 0-0 draw with Fenerbahce in the Champions League followed on Wednesday, although Wenger insists there is no question over his future at the Emirates Stadium.

"I love it here," Wenger said. "I don't question my commitment for Arsenal and I could show you concrete signs that I've done that over the years.

"In my decisions, what comes first is the interest of the club, not what the media will think. That doesn't question my commitment.

"I cannot influence what people will say but I can influence the future of the club. If I look back and forward - I'm proud of the decisions I made."

Wenger's policy of blooding youngsters has come in for criticism, although the Frenchman insists they will repay his faith in them by showing their true potential against Manchester United.

"I have always to answer questions that the team has 'failed'," Wenger said. "But I tell you come back in May and we speak about it. I believe in this team and I believe in the strength of this team," Wenger said.

"You are right that if the result at the end of the season will be based on experience, we will go down. Every single team has more experience than we have.

"But I don't believe that success is linked with experience. It is linked with desire, with talent, with intelligence. You can be intelligent at 18 or 20 and you can be stupid at 30."

A victory over United is essential for Arsenal but Wenger is hampered by injuries to Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, William Gallas, Mikael Silvestre, Manuel Almunia and Emmanuel Eboue, while Robin van Persie is suspended.

Walcott has returned to training and along with Almunia should be fit to face United, although doubts remain about the rest. The injuries could not have come at a worse time, yet Wenger is confident his understudies will take the opportunity to prove their worth.

"I don't feel underdogs at all," he added. "I go into this game with the desire to win it and that's all the belief I have.

"It is down to us to develop well and to show that we can win big games. We have a good opportunity on Saturday. It is what you want in this job as a young player, to show how good you are against a fantastic side.

"Manchester United is a great side but we have a good opportunity to show we can beat them.

"I believe we need a great team performance to stop them from expressing their qualities because they are intelligent players with a lot of talent and we want to stop them."

United have been able to rattle Arsenal in the past by making their meetings a war of attrition. But Wenger doesn't expect Sir Alex Ferguson's side to indulge in the same kind of brutal tackling that Stoke used to unsettle his players.

"I never have negative ideas about our opponents before the game," he said. "I expect a committed game. Commitment is an important part of football and you want it to be physical.

"What I want is just that the referee protects boths teams on the pitch and makes the right decisions."