Arsenal will not sack manager Arsene Wenger, according to chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

The Gunners have lost three of their opening five Premier League games and are just one point above the relegation zone in 17th.

But Gazidis said: "Arsene Wenger is not broken. To see him portrayed as an idiot is damaging - not to him or the club but to the game.

"[Sacking him] is a route we are not going to go down."

Gazidis added: "He didn't suddenly become a bad manager or out of touch. That's nonsense."

Arsenal's 4-3 loss at Blackburn on Saturday means they have made their worst start to a season since 1953, with their only league win coming at home against newly promoted Swansea.

But, speaking at the Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London on Tuesday, Gazidis backed Wenger to improve the club's fortunes.

quote Arsene's been there for 15 years and this is probably going to be the toughest period. In the past he's brought in players who are good players and turned them into world-class players. Now the jury is out. Can the players he has brought in recently turn out to be as good as the ones from his past?

He told BBC Sport's Dan Roan: "If we get into short-termism we will do more damage to the club. He's frustrated but very, very focused on putting things right and is as positively engaged as ever to drive the club forward.

"The club is not in crisis. There's no division in the club. We work together."

Wenger sold Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively during the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman had little time to replace them - though he did bring in Mikel Arteta from Everton and Chelsea's Yossi Benayoun, plus Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker shortly before the deadline.

Gazidis said: "We've made a slight adjustment by signing some more experienced players and we're very happy with who we've brought in.

"If we went out and spent all our money we would make bad decisions, so we've been restrained.

"The club is focused on a responsible, sustainable model. Football's going that way and people are trying to get where we already are. We represent the future of football.

"We will be unmoved in the way we do things and will not be swayed by talk of a crisis. We need to stick together. A lot of the public angst comes from the fact expectations are so high."

Arsenal's next five Premier League fixtures 24 Sep - Bolton (h)

2 Oct - Tottenham (a)

16 Oct - Sunderland (h)

23 Oct - Stoke (h)

29 Oct - Chelsea (a)

Wenger cited a lack of "concentration, communication, co-ordination and individual urgency" as the reason Saturday's defeat at Ewood Park, which saw them score two own goals through Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny.

The 61-year-old said afterwards the club's season now comes down to how they react.

He said: "Our season depends on how well we respond to this disappointment and how quickly we cut out mistake.

"When you score an own goal, you have to look at yourself. We gave away [needless] goals.

"We feel we have given this game away, not that we have lost the game. There is nothing worse in our job than having that feeling.

"[But] I personally want to focus on the positives because there is huge potential in this team. We had 22 shots on goal, 61% of the possession."