WBA Tonight

“Let's not go overboard. We have 23 games to play, we are in all the competitions, [a situation] many clubs would love, so it is down to us to make the season right. I'm confident we will and I believe we have the quality to do it.

“The league doesn’t stop after 15 games. You count the points at the end of the season.”

That was Arsène Wenger ahead of the game against West Brom at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

“The situation is not comfortable,” he went on. “But it’s possible to turn things around very quickly. It’s down to the quality of our performances.

“I have very big faith in this group and it’s a good opportunity to show we have the right mental strength and resolute attitude. We are playing a big game on Saturday. We are playing again on Tuesday [for a place in the Capital One Cup semi-finals] and we are through in the Champions League, so we can have a fantastic future.”

You can understand the manager being bullish. He admitted Arsenal were second-best against Swansea on Saturday and that their home form needs improvement but they are still only five points off fourth place (the initial aim of the season) with those 23 games to go. Last season, before the comeback against Spurs on February 26, they were famously 10 points adrift with only 14 matches remaining.

In addition Arsenal are one of two English clubs still in the Champions League and, while Bradford City must be respected, Wenger’s men are odds-on with the bookmakers to reach the Capital One Cup semi-finals.

Does that mean everything is rosy? No.

But the manager’s current concentration is about solving their issues with internal resources - and that includes rallying support from stands at Emirates Stadium. After all, we all want the same thing.

“I understand the fans’ frustration, of course,” said Wenger. “I am here to make them happy.

“When I can achieve that, I am happy. If I don’t do it, I am not happy at all.

“I have that responsibility and stand up for it but I ask them as well to support the team and help us to get through this difficult patch.”

The aim of the much-changed squad at Olympiacos in midweek was to rest up the others for Saturday. Theo Walcott (calf) and Laurent Koscielny (thigh) will not recover in time. On Friday, Lukas Podolski (hamstring) and Bacary Sagna (foot) were classed as major doubts but would face tests.

West Brom have been the surprise package of the season so far but, just as they started to win real acclaim, they have begun to falter.

Despite defeats to Swansea and Stoke, Steve Clarke’s side remain fifth but arguably the visitors need a result as much as the home side.

“It is a very important match,” said Wenger. “But even when the game is very important, it’s still down to the same basics - defend well, attack well and have faith in our game. No matter how big the game is, you want to focus on that.

“At home I feel there is a little bit a lack of freedom to play right now. That was always our strength. We are a creative team who wants to go forward. It is important that we have that.

“West Brom have been very efficient going forward and they have good players in every position. You see that when you see them play.

“Steve Clarke had a good reputation as an assistant coach, and he did that for many years. He made the step up to bigger responsibility. It doesn’t mean it’s a higher job, but it’s a difficult job, one where you have to face more responsibilities publicly. Until now he has done well.”

The past fortnight has been perhaps the first blip for Clarke as the main man in charge. But Wenger has been there many times before.

“It’s difficult to be consistent for everybody,” he said. “You can see that in the results in the Premier League. That’s why I insist on our consistency so much.

“A real consistent level is always what you want to find. And now we can concentrate on being consistent in the Premier League because we are through in the Champions League.

“December is a very important period for us now. We know that. We play as well in the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night which is an opportunity for some players to show their quality as well. That’s why I say, at the moment, our focus is more on the next few games than anything else like the transfer market.

“There's one thing I don't question and that's the attitude and spirit of this team. I am mad about the fact we have not won against Swansea but I don't question that.

“However I can say that all day - what is important is that we win the games we play, and that's what we want to do.

“We were a bit jaded [against Swansea] because we had two away games after the Champions League,” he concluded. “But I am confident we have been refreshed and can show that on Saturday.”

Per Mertesacker scores the first of Arsenal's five goals. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

4. Per Mertesacker

Germany centre back Per Mertesacker enjoyed a good start to his Arsenal career before injury laid him low for the season’s final three months.

The towering defender joined the Gunners from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen on August 31, 2011, and was pressed straight into Premier League action. He helped the side keep a clean sheet on his debut against Swansea City, and went on to make 12 appearances in his first two months as an Arsenal player.

As time progressed, the experienced international became noticeably more comfortable with the rigours of the English top flight - and he produced a string of consistent, composed displays during the winter as Arsène Wenger’s side recovered from a rocky start to the campaign.

His season ended prematurely, though, when he sustained an ankle injury against Sunderland in February - just as he was hitting top form. He recovered in time to feature in Germany’s Euro 2012 squad but did not play in Poland and Ukraine.

Per has been an important member of the ‘Nationalmannschaft’ since 2004, at which time he was on the books of Hannover 96. He moved on to Werder Bremen in 2006, having impressed at that year’s World Cup. Making 172 appearances in his five years there, he was also a runner-up at Euro 2008 and participated in the 2010 World Cup.

Theo Walcott

Lightning-fast forward Theo Walcott enjoyed perhaps his best Arsenal season to date in 2011/12.

Making 46 appearances, scoring 11 goals and providing 12 assists, the England international was a consistent threat and reaped the benefits of a campaign in which he was untroubled by significant injury.

His brace in the 5-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur - two fine finishes that came after he was criticised for a below-par first-half display - will live long in the memory, but Theo was never far from the action.

Vital winners in each leg of the Champions League qualifying tie against Udinese, a stunning solo goal at Stamford Bridge and a hat-trick of assists in the 7-1 win over Blackburn Rovers all impressed - while Robin van Persie admitted that his relationship with Theo played a big role in his own scoring tally.

Theo’s campaign finished on international duty with England, for whom he made four substitute appearances in Euro 2012. His goal and assist in the 3-2 win over Sweden were perhaps England’s finest moments of the tournament, and Theo’s best for the national team since a hat-trick against Croatia in September 2008.

Having signed for Arsenal from Southampton in 2006, Theo won a call-up to England’s World Cup squad later that year - and became the country’s youngest-ever full international at 17 years and 75 days when he faced Hungary

16. Aaron Ramsey

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey performed well in what was, effectively, his first full season in the Gunners’ first team.

Having seen the previous two campaigns disrupted by a leg fracture sustained against Stoke in February 2010, Aaron was a regular in the midfield during 2011/12 and made some vital contributions.

These included an assist for Theo Walcott in the home leg of the Champions League qualifier against Udinese, a dramatic group stage winner in Marseille, an equaliser against Tottenham at White Hart Lane and an excellent strike in the Premier League match at Sunderland. 

A midfielder with fine technique, tireless energy and clever movement, he could be seen appearing in goalscoring positions throughout the campaign - and will be hoping to find the target more regularly this term.

Aaron joined Arsenal from Cardiff City in the summer of 2008 at the age of just 17. He had already become the youngest player to represent the Bluebirds, at 16 years and 124 days, and hit another milestone when he became the fifth-youngest scorer in Champions League history against Fenerbahce. 

His progress was checked by that injury the following season, but loan spells with Nottingham Forest and former club Cardiff completed his rehabilitation and he was handed the Wales armband by late manager Gary Speed in March 2011. Aaron will now look to lead his country into the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.

8. MIKEL ARTETA

Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta played a big role in the Gunners’ season after joining from Everton in August 2011.

Arsenal beat the transfer deadline by a matter of hours to secure the schemer’s signature, and it proved a shrewd deal as his attitude and consistency proved hugely beneficial both on and off the pitch.

A highly-creative player, much of his best early work actually involved improving the defensive balance of the team’s midfield, covering for his team-mates’ runs forward and using the ball intelligently. 

Mikel made some decisive contributions further forward, though - a brilliant late winner against Manchester City was a highlight, as was his scorching free-kick in the victory over Aston Villa. His reliability was missed during a three-week absence in January, as well as the final month of the season after he picked up an injury against Wigan.

Mikel’s name was a familiar one to Premier League followers before he arrived at Emirates Stadium. He represented Everton with distinction for six-and-a-half years, making 209 appearances and scoring 35 goals, and was named the Toffees’ Player of the Year three times. Prior to that, he represented Real Sociedad and Rangers - winning all three major domestic trophies in Scotland.

The Basque midfielder began his career in Catalonia with Barcelona, but made his breakthrough into senior football with a loan spell at Paris St-Germain in 2000.

‘Wilshere doing well but we must be cautious’

Arsène Wenger insists he will exercise caution over Jack Wilshere's comeback even though the England international is "doing extremely well" in training.

Wilshere ended a 14-month absence from football on Monday when he completed 63 minutes for the under-21s at West Brom, and he is expected to play against Reading in the same competition next week.

Wenger is pleased with Wilshere's progress but he will resist the temptation to draft him back into the first-team squad for now.

"Jack is doing very well but we need to be a bit patient," said Wenger. "He has played 60 minutes in the reserve team and he needs a few games, progressive build-up to get his body used again to competition, to shocks, to fights. 

"But he is doing extremely well, the situation looks very good. We have to be cautious, not crazy, because of his talent you are always pushed in a situation where you would like to rush him back, and we have to resist that. 

"The next match should be next week and he is working very very hard [in training]. The body is like that, when you have been out of competition for 14 months it takes a long time to find your sharpness back. You cannot rush it."

Wilshere's recovery is good news for England as well as Arsenal but Wenger is confident that national coach Roy Hodgson will be as patient as him.

"Everybody is keen [to have Wilshere back] and we are the first," he said. 

"I think there are three things that are important for every player: the health of the player, the interests of the club and the interests of the national team. You have to try to combine the three but the most important thing of course is the health of the player. 

"Roy Hodgson is long enough in the job to know that a player who has been out for 14 months, you have to give him time to play again. When the time comes up, he will play for England again of course."