Wenger: Reyes agent was fine but some are shocking

On that occasion, after being accused of bullying and underhand tactics by Chris Coleman, Saha's agent Ranko Stojic picked up of the £750,000 commission when the deal finally went through.

At the same time, suspicions about the dubious role of agents have forced United to conduct an internal review into several high-profile transfers.

Despite the bad press, however, Wenger believes it is unfair to castigate all agents.

He said: "Sometimes it can be a bit chaotic, but I feel certain agents get a bad reputation which they don't deserve. In the case of Reyes, the agent has been fantastic. He deserves every penny he gets. It's a big deal and he played a positive part for us.

"He was straight and told us the truth. He worked to get the player to move in a positive way which was to the benefit of Arsenal. People often forget about agents who do their job well and deserve the money."

Arsenal are still waiting to find out if Reyes will be allowed to make his Arsenal debut in Sunday's clash with Manchester City.

The 20-year-old was due to serve a one-match suspension in La Liga this weekend and the club are yet to hear if the Spanish football authorities will make the ban a condition of his international clearance. If not he is likely to play in Tuesday's rearranged Carling Cup semi-final at Middlesbrough.

Freddie Ljungberg is struggling with a rib injury, but should recover in time for the visit of City. Defender Pascal Cygan is also doubtful due to an ankle problem, while Kanu is at the African Nations Cup and Jeremie Aliadiere and Sylvain Wiltord are injured.

For Manchester City, former England striker Robbie Fowler (flu) and Richard Dunne (toe) have both been passed fit.