2011-02-27 : Arsenal 1-2 Birmingham City (Carling Cup Finals)

Wenger: 'The defeat is difficult to take'
Dear Arsenal Supporter,

I am bitterly disappointed about the Carling Cup Final, like the whole team.

We had some problems to start the game quickly, the number of games we have played caught up on us a little bit. It took us a while to get into the rhythm and pace of the game. In the second half we were on top, but unfortunately we couldn't score the second goal and, in the end, we made a mistake that left us no time at all to respond.

Congratulations to Birmingham, they took advantage of the mistake we made and they took the trophy which hurts us tremendously. We have to continue with our belief, pick ourselves up and face the other challenges we have.

The team is very disappointed and we will face a lot of questions after that mistake at Wembley but we have to be strong enough to stand up. It is a good opportunity to show that we have the mental strength to respond to the situation like that.

The big talking point from Sunday was Birmingham's winning goal and it was down to a lack of communication and determination. Like always, when the ball is in no-man's land someone has to take responsibility and go for it.

Both Koscielny and Szczesny felt destroyed afterwards and we have to lift them up again and help them, that is what a team is about. It is part of the game, we had enough chances to kill the game off before that mistake.

It's hard to say how much that defeat will affect my squad. It is a massive disappointment but we have massive challenges in front of us. The Carling Cup is five games but a championship season is 38. We will not throw 38 games away because of one game. I am confident we have the character and this is a good opportunity to show it.

In the last 18 games we have lost one at Ipswich in the first leg of the Carling Cup Semi-Final and we lost on Sunday in the last minute on a very special goal. What the team is achieving overall is absolutely tremendous and the defeat is difficult to take because we are used to winning.

Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger