Wenger: You can see we have belief now

THERE are two types of bullying.

The mental kind and the physical kind and Arsene Wenger has suffered at the hands of both in his bid to add his first trophy at Arsenal since 2005. There are encouraging signs that the Frenchman’s side have found an answer to both as they enter what could be a defining 2011.

Wenger’s annual message in the intervening period has been about as convincing as the habitual smoker’s New Year resolution to beat his addiction and by the end of January he has been metaphorically reaching for the nearest pack of cigarettes — stressed at the sight of another Premier League challenge unravelling before his eyes.

Wenger is preaching again about his players being equipped to seriously challenge the monopoly Chelsea and Manchester United have held over the Premier League trophy, but this time there is a sense his words do not carry the same hollow feel as years gone by.

Anyone who witnessed the way his side demolished Alex McLeish’s team, ahead of their crucial meeting with Manchester City at the Emirates on Wednesday night will find it hard to disagree.

Only a few days ago, Wenger was talking about the fact they can no longer be bullied by Chelsea, after sending Carlo Ancelotti’s men packing at the Emirates.

What will please him most is that the physical bullying, which Arsenal regularly suffered at the hands of Birmingham City no longer applies either. There were horrible flashbacks when Roger Johnson clattered into Cesc Fabregas after less than 10 minutes, but Arsenal were in no mood to be cowed by the constant snarling of Lee Bowyer.

Beauty, in the form of Samir Nasri and Fabregas, stood up to the stamping and stud-raking Birmingham beast and battered Bowyer and his colleagues into submission with a football tutorial on the beautiful game and Wenger believes they are ready to stand toe-to-toe with their four other rivals for the Premier League crown.

“There is a hunger there and a determination. We are ready for a fight. The belief is strong and now it is down to us to show mental stamina. That is something we have to do. That is a resolution we need to take. Many people take new resolutions at the start of January. It is important for us to carry them forward in football at least until the end of May,” he said.

“That is why I am so proud of my players. You have to be brave to get the ball down and play and that is the most important thing and why I am most pleased. We tried every time to play. Sometimes we lost the ball, but we tried. Even under pressure we tried to play. That is where I was the most pleased the players believe in what we want to do.”

The psychological benefit of the Chelsea victory has seen his players rise in stature. Belief, allied to the brilliance of Nasri, who collected his 13th goal of the season thanks to his telepathic understanding with Fabregas, is a potent weapon.

The pair played a key role in Johnson’s own goal after Robin Van Persie’s first league goal since the opening day of last season set the tone for another win away from the Emirates, ahead of the visit of Manchester City on Wednesday.

“Our away record is the best in the league and no one can dispute that and in England when you want to travel well you have to be physically resilient. We started the season with more personality and more authority. We panic less now,” added Wenger.

“This team could see the positive effect of the Chelsea win. It was there for all to see. You can see we have the belief in our game now. So that is what makes the title race really interesting.”

Arsenal’s victory was only the second time in 30 home games that Birmingham suffered defeat and these are difficult times for Alex McLeish. He will soon discoverer whether Bowyer will face retrospective disciplinary action for the stamp on Bacary Sagna which was missed by referee Peter Walton.

Bowyer faces a possible three-match ban for that and could also be disciplined for a later cynical foul on the Arsenal full-back which also went unpunished and unseen by his frustrated manager.

“You don’t like to lose anyone through suspension. A ban is something that a manager can’t legislate for in terms of discipline. I’ve said to players before every game, it’s important we keep 11 on the pitch,” said McLeish.

McLeish is also fighting fires with Alexander Hleb, who claimed in a TV interview before the game that he would swap his Birmingham shirt for an Arsenal one any day of the week. “Is that a bad thing to say? He obviously wants to play at the top level and Arsenal are top level. But he’s got a job to do here,” McLeish said.

“It’s time for Alex to show in the second half of the season what he’s really capable of. He came here half fit and I’ve thrown him in because we need a player of his calibre to help us out. We need him to make an impact from start to finish, if he buys into that, he’s a big asset.” McLeish also needs someone to start scoring goals and has already held preliminary discussions with vice-chairman Peter Pannu over bringing in a striker, with Robbie Keane at the head of the wanted list.