Wenger shrugs off pressure

Arsenal boss happy with how side has handled pressure

By Lewis Rutledge   Last updated: 12th February 2008

arsene wenger arsenal manager

Wenger: Staying focused

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Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to the battling qualities of his Arsenal side following the 2-0 victory over Blackburn.

Manchester United's defeat to Manchester City on Sunday presented The Gunners with the opportunity to move five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

They struggled to find their best form against Blackburn but goals from Philippe Senderos and Emmanuel Adebayor clinched the win.

Wenger has been delighted with his team's consistency, particularly in recent weeks when Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Eboue and Alexandre Song have been away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

He said: "I feel we handled the pressure very well each time this year when we've had our backs to the wall.

"Last week we were the first to play, at Manchester City, and we won. This week we were the last to play and we won. We've come up with the same answer each time."

Long way to go

There are still 12 games of the season remaining and Wenger accepts that there is plenty of time for Arsenal to be caught, but he believes his players are all in the right frame of mind and will cope with the strain.

He explained: "We always had the belief from the first day but there's still a long way to go. As soon as you're not at your best at the top, you can drop points.

"We have seen that over the weekend. We have still 12 games to go. We are in a good position. We believe we can do it.

"It's far from being over. We'll have to fight until the last minute of the championship. We still have hard games ahead of us.

"Five points in front, we're not going to believe we have no chance.

"We believe we have a chance to do it, but we're conscious as well that we have to keep our humility, our team spirit and the way we want to play the game. We have to focus on that."