Wenger: Keep the faith

Arsene Wenger has called on Arsenal fans not to lose faith as his team look to salvage their season.

After going out of three cup competitions in the space of a fortnight, the Gunners are now fully focused on delivering the Barclays Premier League crown.
Only a fortnight ago, Wenger's youngsters appeared all set to finally come of age in 2011 as they ran out at Wembley for the Carling Cup final against Birmingham City.
Now, the Gunners are facing up to the prospect of another campaign which promised so much failing to deliver once more after they surprisingly lost to Blues before crashing out of both the Champions League in Barcelona and then the FA Cup to Manchester United.
As a seventh barren season looms on the horizon, Wenger is reported to be ready to turn to veteran Jens Lehmann to provide experienced goalkeeping cover following an injury to Wojciech Szczesny.
Questions have certainly arisen over Wenger's continued faith in youngsters like the 20-year-old Pole, who will be out for around six weeks after damaging a finger at the Nou Camp, to deliver rather than going out and buying established names with a proven track record.
Nevertheless, Arsenal's Barclays Premier League destiny remains very much in their own hands with 10 fixtures to go, as they trail leaders United by just three points, but with a match in hand ahead of their crunch showdown at Emirates Stadium on 1st May.
Some 9,000 Gunners fans made the journey to Old Trafford on Saturday evening, many of whom had also just returned from a bitterly disappointing midweek trip to Catalonia.

Major Targets

Wenger has called for the supporters to continue to try to lift his battle-weary side on the pitch when they return to league action at relegation-fighters West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
"The fans were absolutely amazing, and we need them at West Brom now," Wenger told the official club website.
"Hopefully they keep cheering us and keep the morale as well because we have to support each other now in that final part of the season, because it is a vital part."
The Gunners boss accepts his job is to keep the players positive at their Hertfordshire training base.
"It is very hard to take, because they were two major targets of the season, and we are out of them in the space of a few days," Wenger said.
"The team has put a lot of effort in, but we have to focus on our next challenge - and that is the Premier League.
"We have to regroup and show we are mentally strong.
"I believe yes (we can win the title), but we want to get some players back and not lose any more than we have in the last two games."
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