Wenger wants end to war of words with Fergie

ARSENE WENGER has called for an end to his war of words with Alex Ferguson, even though the Man Utd manager continues to goad the Arsenal chief following their stormy meeting in the Premiership last week.

The United manager already claims that Wenger has a 'mental' problem with Ruud van Nistelrooy and the striker says he is ready to sue the Arsenal boss for labelling him a 'cheat'.

Now Ferguson has called on the FA to punish Thierry Henry for a challenge on Gabriel Heinze in the same game.

However, Wenger insisted he would not be making any counter-statements and said the whole episode was over. "We are finished with it. Our responsibility is to come out here with what we think should be said, and I said what had to be said on Tuesday and since then, we have not made any comment.

"I cannot say any more than that. I can only be responsible for what I say and not for what other people say. We behave like we want to behave on the pitch. We are not responsible for what has been said. We are responsible for winning or losing games and you feel that more than anything that has been said."

Wenger knows that the Old Trafford defeat, their first in 50 games, affected his players during Saturday's clash with Southampton. In a sensational four-goal thriller, Arsenal scraped a point thanks to a last-gasp equaliser from Robin van Persie.

"Mentally, it was important not to lose two games on the trot because then you would have said we'll lose 49 on the trot, so for us, it was important not to lose," Wenger said.

"The anxiety level in the dressing-room before the game was a little bit higher, the climate was a bit heavier. Less light-hearted than it usually is. You feel everyone was concentrated but maybe too much.

"I'm not surprised at the shocked reaction of my players. Time heals and it always takes time. You can speak and speak and speak, but I feel only that time heals these sort of things.

"After the game, we were not happy with the way we played," said Wenger. "We didn't jump through the roof, we know we should have won the game but I feel the positive effects will come later."