Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that Stan Kroenke is not to blame for the club's failure to qualify for the Champions League this season.

A 3-1 victory over Everton on the final day was not enough for the Gunners to steal into the top four of the Premier League, leading Arsenal fans to chant "Stan Kroenke get out of our club" just days after the owner had rejected a £1bn takeover bid from Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

Fans have become increasingly frustrated with Kroenke's relative lack of spending and commitment to the club, but Wenger came to the defence of the American businessman.

"I respect Stan Kroenke a lot. He's not at fault if we didn't reach the Champions League. It's the technical department that is responsible for that," he is quoted as saying by the Evening Standard.

"Is he committed? That's not my problem. I think a club works when everybody does his job. We live in a society where everybody has an opinion. They do little and they talk a lot.

"That doesn't move the society forward. What moves the society forward is people who work, really hard, and talk not too much."

Arsenal's final points tally of 75 is the highest to have ever missed out on a top-four spot in the Premier League and four better than they managed last season, when they finished second.