Wenger - Too close for comfort

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has admitted that his side were almost made to pay for missed opportunities against Burnley.

The Gunners eventually ran out 3-1 winners but were given a scare when David Nugent cancelled out Cesc Fabregas' opener after Arsenal had missed a host of chances.

Wenger said that if Steven Thompson had hit the target after a loose ball fell to him in the box, Arsenal may well have been forced to settle for a point.

"They were close to 2-2 at some stages because they had the chance in the box after a corner," he told Sky Sports after the match.

"That was certainly a turning point but we had plenty of chances today."

Scare

Fabregas was taken off through injury shortly after his first-half strike, and Wenger says that the midfielder's status is now in doubt for the crucial Champions League tie with Porto on Tuesday.

"It was a hamstring scare, I don't know how deep the damage is, we'll assess that tomorrow but of course, at the moment, there is a doubt about him," Wenger added.

Nicklas Bendtner was the main culprit for Arsenal's wastefulness in front of goal as he spurned several simple opportunities to put the game beyond doubt.

But Wenger is not concerned with the Denmark striker's form, remaining confident that he can still put the chances away when it matters.

"I believe his (Bendtner's) game is quite strange today because his overall contribution in the normal game was quite good and he missed the finishing. He knows that," he added.

"The team didn't pay for it, so next time we'll put them in."

Response

Theo Walcott emerged from the contest with the plaudits after coming in for criticism for his England performance in midweek.

Wenger revealed that he was expecting a response from the youngster against Burnley

"The best answer, always, to all the critics is performance on the pitch and that's what he did today," the Frenchman added.

"I was not especially worried, you could sometimes worry about the impact but I've known him long enough to know that's he's strong mentally.

"I knew he'd give a response today."

The victory sends the Gunners level on points with Chelsea and Wenger believes his side's team spirit could propel them to an unlikely title triumph.

He said: "We have a great togetherness, that is for sure. Because when you have gone through what we have gone through this season and stand where we are, you need to be mentally strong.

"Everybody buried us 10 times and we are still there, so we rely on that. We have belief, we have hunger and we have quality, so we'll fight."