Arsenal vs West Brom: Arsene Wenger wants siege mentality to get Gunners back on track after 'horrible' week
Arsenal head into the Boxing Day encounter with West Brom off the back of two consecutive defeats, but Wenger is refusing to panic even if he's not immune to the criticism
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Arsene Wenger wants his Arsenal players to continue adopting a siege mentality approach via the dressing room.
Fourth-placed Arsenal have slipped nine points off leaders Chelsea following successive away defeats but Wenger says there is time to make amends and, most significantly recover precious ground.
And the changing room is the healing process where the recovery process begins to fuel their Premier League title push, according to Wenger.
"I believe what is important is the strength you find inside and you respond inside the club to be united in the dressing room," said Wenger.
"There's a special thing happening for a player in the dressing room. I spoke with David Beckham about that recently.
"I asked him, do you miss it? He said, 'Football I can play every day and I'm invited to all the charity games. But I miss the dressing room, that kind of being together for something special, fighting together, that's what you miss.' That helps them to get over it."
Arsenal have slipped up in their last two away games against Everton and Manchester City but Wenger said: "We have just lost two games, of course it's tough, but Man City didn't win for six, Tottenham for four or five, Manchester United as well.
"All the teams go through that. It's the teams who responded well together who have the most successful seasons.
"In 20 years I had very few seasons where you start on the motorway and you finish on the motorway with no car in front of you."
During his long reign, Wenger has been forced to come through tough periods where supporters have called for his head. The likes of Olivier Giroud and Mesut Özil, two of Arsenal's most influential players, have not escaped heavy criticism in recent times.
"It's not easy to walk out sometimes in a hostile environment and perform at your best," said the Arsenal manager.
"I'm not immune to critics," said Wenger.
"But I'm immune to excessive reaction, yes. I've been long enough in the job to put that into perspective as part of people who love the club that are really disappointed on Monday morning and get their frustration out.
"We have to live with that. It doesn't mean they are not ready to change their mind if we win the next game."
And how Arsenal need a response and a win with the visit of West Brom following the damaging defeats on the road.
"We are ready for a fight and we want to respond," added Wenger.
"I think in 20 games we have lost the last two. But our quality has been consistent since the start of the season.
"We want to respond in a strong way and in a determined way. I think everybody is focused to that. Like every manager, I suffer when we don't win a game. When you play on the 26th it's a game of big importance and you know that you can't switch off."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments