Saturday 4 February 2017 12:27, UK
Arsene Wenger says Arsenal's season will be defined by their performances in big matches, starting with their lunchtime showdown at Chelsea.
The Arsenal manager admits he and his players are hurting after Tuesday night's surprise 2-1 home defeat to Watford, which left them nine points behind Saturday's opponents in the title race.
Wenger wants his players to cut the gap with victory at Stamford Bridge ahead of Champions League clashes with Bayern Munich, a FA Cup trip to Sutton United and huge Premier League matches against Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham and Manchester United later in the campaign.
And with so many big games to play, Wenger refuses to write off his team's title hopes.
"As long as you are mathematically in it then you are in it," he told Sky Sports.
"We have already beaten Chelsea in the first game, 3-0, so let's come out on Saturday and show that was not an accident.
"It is an opportunity that you want to take. We have many big games coming up, if you look at our programme until the end of the season we have many, many big games.
"I would say basically our destiny lies in how well we deal with the big games. People are questioning us and you have to respond in a big game or people will question you even more.
"We are here to win football games for Arsenal Football Club and not to worry about the criticism because criticism is normal. People who love the club want you to win the games and you have to deal with that situation."
People are questioning us and you have to respond in a big game or people will question you even more.
Wenger said after Tuesday's defeat that his players were not "mentally prepared" for Watford, as they fell 2-0 behind in the first 13 minutes.
However, he has now clarified those comments insisting his players were focused, but were not ready for important battles in midfield.
"I have not seen any signs of complacency in the preparation of the game from the players," Wenger said.
"Was I surprised by the start of the game, especially in the middle of the park? Yes. We lost some decisive duels that we paid for.
"But honestly I know the team well and I haven't seen any obvious sign of lack of focus before the game - but subconsciously we have to accept it.
"Do you know what I call being mentally prepared? When you're a football player, you prepare your mind and your body for the difficulty you will face.
"So when you are beaten in decisive duels, somewhere you are not what I call mentally prepared. You must imagine in your head what you will face and prepare for it."
Wenger admitted the loss was a painful one for him and his players to take, but did not want to hide from the critics.
He added: "We lost four games since the start of the season and every time you lose a game I can understand people forgetting that you won 20 or however many.
"People question absolutely everything and that is part of it, but we have to deal with that and be excited about the next game and show what we are made of; steel and style and come out and prove everybody wrong.
"You always have to try to keep perspective and show where you have been wrong and analyse. When things go wrong clarity is very important and not convince everybody that they are not good football players any more. We are still good football players.
"You can predict exactly what questions will happen, but what will not go away is how much a defeat hurts. I am like the players, it hurts tremendously, but it is my job to analyse no matter how much it hurts."
Don't miss Premier League Live: Chelsea v Arsenal from 11.30am on Sky Sports 1.
