Never GIVE UP, keep your HEAD UP

Dear Soulstar

Positive points are difficult to find from Saturday's FA Cup defeat against Manchester United because overall we were not up to the level of our normal game. We know that and the players know that as well. In fact, the only positive I can think of is that we do not have any new injuries. The talking points at Old Trafford included Emmanuel Eboue's sending off which looked a bit harsh from my position. The game was over after the red card and maybe even before that because we never looked like we could come back.

Then there was Nani's ball-juggling which I thought was a little bit disrespectful. He had a very good game on Saturday but that was not needed. But it can happen to a young player. I didn't really have serious thoughts about the treble but you try and make a choice as late as you can. Saturday was difficult to swallow for the players because it looked like we did not have the physical resources to come back into the game. At the moment our cup defeats are unbelievable. When we lose in the cup we get a hiding. We don't concede in the League but when we do concede we do it well! Either way we need to recover quickly because we need to be at our best to beat Milan.

As for the rest of the season, the targets in front of us are very clear. They are the Premier League and the Champions League. We are not in a position where we have to make a choice. We just have balanced fixtures now and we need to pick ourselves up quickly because we have a massive game on Wednesday. Of course we are back at Old Trafford in April for the Premier League game and you will see a different Arsenal team then. We will be in a different shape when our injuries clear up and I hope the pitch will be in a different shape as well. Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger