Wenger support for Sheva

Arsene Wenger insists Andrei Shevchenko has made Chelsea a better team.

Arsene Wenger insists that Andrei Shevchenko has made Chelsea a better team this season despite reports from Jose Mourinho that the striker is not 'untouchable'.

Wenger also believes the Ukrainian has made Didier Drogba a better player insisting that Chelsea's more attacking approach is due to the former Milan star's influence.

Shevchenko has recently come under scrutiny from both himself and Mourinho who has admitted the star has yet to justify his £30.8 million price tag.  

Wenger told the club's website: "If Drogba does well it is certainly down to Shevchenko as well.

"Drogba was always a great player but even more since he played with Shevchenko. He has more support, more deflections. He gets more deflected balls and someone makes the runs for him and he takes advantage of that.

"A second presence sometimes diverts (defenders' attention) - mentally and physically. That gives [Drogba] more confidence and more chance and as well maybe Chelsea play in a more offensive style than they used before."

Wenger has come to the defence of the former Dynamo Kiev player by highlighting the amount of time it takes to adapt to the Premier League. 

He said: "Old or young it takes six months to completely adapt to the pace of the league.

"Sometimes it is that your game is not completely as good, sometimes you struggle with injuries. We had all kinds of problems here and I feel that five or six months is needed.

"I personally rate Shevchenko highly from the time he played with Dynamo Kiev against us. I feel as well he is a really keen player and sometimes that kind of work is not rated enough," he added.