Wenger: Arsenal ´boys´ no more

Arsene Wenger believes his team have answered their critics by beating Chelsea and proved they are no longer scared of their biggest rivals.

Arsenal crushed champions Chelsea 3-1 at the Emirates on Monday to go second on the English Premier League table, and Wenger said he believed it could prove to be a huge result in his team’s season.

“It was result the team needed,” he said.

“It has a double impact. It keeps us in touch with the leaders and also has a psychological impact as well because were questioned about our ability to win big games.”

“We know for us to beat the big teams at home it will have an important impact on the outcome of this league.”

Last season Chelsea won 3-0 at the Emirates in a match described by pundits as ‘boys against men’.

But Wenger believes things have now changed.

“We are not bullied anymore,” he said.

“I feel over the last two years we have matured. But this championship is very difficult to predict. We have to show now that we have that out of our system and that we can be consistent.”

“We are not very far, we are in December and in touch with Man U. We have to give it our best and continue to improve. I hope the victory tonight will convince the team they are on the right way and make them hungry to improve.”

However, Wenger refused to rule Chelsea out of the title race and insisted it would wrong for them to sack manager Carlo Ancelotti after a run of only one victory in eight league games.

“I still count Chelsea as one of the big contenders for the championship. I don’t think they are out of it, not at all,” he said.

When asked if Ancelotti could face the sack, he added: “I rate Ancelotti very highly. I cannot believe that.”