Wenger’s grit claims can’t mask the harsh truth

ARSENE WENGER spends so much time talking about the character of his players and their determination to succeed, you wonder whether he is trying to convince himself more than the masses who doubt whether Arsenal have the winning mentality to overhaul Manchester United in the race for the Premier League title.

Typically Wenger prefers to concentrate on the fact his side dug deep enough to glean something from a game they looked to have thrown away, rather than on the continuing weaknesses of Manuel Almunia, Sebastien Squllaci and Laurent Koscielny. Bravery can get you so far, brittle goalkeeping and equally suspect central defending in front of goal cannot get you over the line.

For a man so steeped in the tradition of Arsenal, he cannot surely forget what David Seaman, Tony Adams, Steve Bould et al did for the club when Arsenal were a dominant force in the Premier League. His reluctance to find similar types in January, when the alarm bells were ringing, will be more damaging to his ultimate aim of winning his first title since 2004 than any mental scars received in the Nou Camp against Barcelona.