ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to Stoke City ahead of the Barclays Premier League game at the Britannia Stadium . . . but has insisted his side are not out for revenge.

City have got the better of Wenger's title hopefuls on their last two visits to the Potteries, the latest of which was a 3-1 triumph in the FA Cup fourth round tie little more than a month ago.

Though Arsenal's boss has been critical of the Potters' style of play, he has stressed that "Stoke are a team who play football as well" in looking ahead to their latest meeting on Saturday.

"I have seen them recently and they have a good mixture between that efficiency and their play. I believe technically it is a team that has improved tremendously since last season," he said.

Wenger has nevertheless being doing his homework in preparation for what Arsenal can expect on their latest visit to the Britannia Stadium, stating: "You know Stoke have scored 15 goals from set-pieces, 14 at home and of those 14 at home, a big part is down to their long throws.

"It is a game we want to win and that is not necessarily linked with what happened before," he said. "It is just linked with how we cancel their strong points and how strongly we perform."

The Arsenal manager admitted that his side deserved to lose January's FA Cup tie at Stoke but is determined to prove that his side can get the better of the Potters.

"Stoke on the day were better than us and don't forget when we put the experienced players on the pitch it was 1-1 and we still lost the game. But we have a good opportunity to prove we can be better than them on Saturday," added the most successful manager in Arsenal's history.