Wenger hopes Arsenal keep their nerve

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has told his players that they must stay calm and keep their nerve if they are to finish in the top four this season.
The Gunners showed all of their fighting spirit on Saturday, as they came from a goal behind to beat Norwich 3-1 and move up to third in the Premier League table.
Despite them now having played a game more than the Blues, the Emirates Stadium side will certainly be glad to have the points on the board and have the perfect chance to consolidate their position in the top four when they meet fellow Champions League hopefuls Everton on Tuesday.
This is all a far cry from earlier in the season, when both fans and pundits who bet on football alike were questioning Wenger’s methods after he once again let some of the club’s best players’ leave in the summer, most notably skipper Robin van Persie who joined Manchester United.
However the Frenchman has again proved his class by turning the situation around and will be confident of guiding his side to a top four finish once again.
With six games left the situation is now in their hands and the run-in certainly suits them, with United the only team above them that they are still to face.
Wenger knows his side cannot afford to drop anymore points and has called on them to hold their nerve and seal Champions League football.
"It is a question of nerves," Wenger said to Premier League betting news reporters. "The win over Norwich was a balance of nerves, quality and intelligence.
"We did not do anything stupid when we were 1-0 down and kept faith in our game. That side of the game will be important.
"We know we cannot drop points and we have to go until the end with this consistency."

Close shave in Germany won't silence Wenger doubters

Arsenal fans are probably feeling a sense of déjà vu at this point in time after another Champions League campaign ended with a stirring second leg fight back which concluded with them being within touching distance of a famous result. Twelve months ago the Gunners went out to AC Milan after failing to overcome a massive first leg deficit. Fast forward to 2013 and just replace Milan with Bayern Munich as the architects of Arsenal's downfall.

The 2-0 win in Germany will restore some of the pride that has been lost in what has arguably been Arsene Wenger's toughest season in charge of the club. Embarrassing exits at the hands of lower league opposition from both domestic cup competitions, coupled with some inconsistent league form that has put their Champions League place in doubt, has seen Wenger's position at the Emirates Stadium seriously questioned for the first time in his 16-year reign.

A content Arsenal fan is hard to find this season but many will have watched the game with Bayern and ended up feeling more positive about the manager. You might argue he should have thrown caution to the wind earlier in the search of the three goals Arsenal needed to go through, but overall he got his team selection and tactics right.

However, the team's performance and win was quickly forgotten. Within 10 minutes of the full time whistle being blown the national media and columns such as former Gunner Lee Dixon in his 

Lee Dixon Tips articles, had begun trotting out the same lines about whether he should stay and why he hasn't dipped into Arsenal's much talked about war chest.

The truth of the matter is until Wenger can win another trophy with Arsenal the voices of those critics questioning his position will always be heard. The little battles the Frenchman wins, like in Germany on Wednesday, will be quickly forgotten for now. It is the big battles Wenger must now get the better of if he is to realise his dream of forging another all-conquering Arsenal team.