2011-03-19: W.B.A. 2-2 Arsenal

Wenger: 'We were too tentative at first'

Dear Arsenal Supporter,

I am proud of the spirit we showed on Saturday. It shows we are ready for a fight.

We made things difficult for ourselves with the second West Brom goal and we faced opponents who were very well organised. It was a little bit 'attack against defence', like a training game, and the pitch was very difficult for us, it looked difficult to get our passing to its top speed.

I think we were far too nervous and tentative in the first part of the game. They played with more freedom than we did. We were a bit nervy and you could see that the recent games had an impact in our mind.

In the end it was more down to character and resilience, and we have shown plenty of that. Mathematically we have lost two points in the title race but psychologically we have gained a point because when you are 2-0 down with 20 minutes to go, you are not too unhappy to come back.

What was good was the reaction the whole team showed. It will be interesting until the end of the season, we are ready to focus and ready to fight.

As far as the title race is concerned, I felt that it would not be over whatever happened on Saturday. But for the team it was important not to lose. Considering what happened to us recently, you wonder how easy it would have been to recover if we had lost the game.

Of course it's frustrating to see us make mistakes but that's the Premier League this season. It is the least predictable season since I have been in England so from now on it will be down to consistency and character.

Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger