‘Arsenal have the character to win the league’ – Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that his side have shown the type of character this season that suggests they can win the Premier League title.

The Gunners have been criticised in recent years for lacking the mental fortitude for a sustained title challenge, but they overcame the odds to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League earlier this month, while also being the only side to beat league leaders Leicester City so far this season.

Arsenal have also comfortably dispatched of Manchester United this term and, ahead of Monday night’s meeting with fellow challengers Manchester City, Wenger believes that his current crop of players have what it takes to end their 12-year drought.

“We have to accept that’s part of it but we have to give our answer on the pitch week in, week out, and that will slowly die. It was true for a while because we were a young team and a young team can be up and down.

But I believe now we have shown that what we did at Olympiacos is not a team of no character,” Wenger told reporters. “You need to be special to achieve that. We won the FA Cup in the last two seasons and you need character to win the FA Cup.

Everybody would love to do it every year. We are the only team who have beaten Leicester basically, and in a convincing way.

The character is down to consistency in life. “That’s what I call character. All of us can be for one day in our life exceptional but character is to have a target and maintain your focus on that target. That’s what I call character and that’s what we have to show in the league.

What I feel is great team spirit and great unity in the dressing room, and focus to go forward, that’s for sure.

After that, we have to answer on the pitch ‘are we good enough?'” Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League table, five points adrift of Leicester.