Wenger fires title warning after Nasri sinks United

Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal's Premier League rivals that their thrilling 2-1 win over Manchester United proves they have the character to win the title.

The mental and physical strength of Wenger's team had been questioned over the past two weeks after they threw away a 4-2 lead against Tottenham, lost a bruising encounter at Stoke and failed to break down Fenerbahce.

But the Gunners bounced back with their best performance of the season as French midfielder Samir Nasri scored twice before Brazilian teenager Rafael Da Silva set up a dramatic finale with a superb late strike.

The victory moved Arsenal ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson's men into third in the table and Wenger insists doubts over his side's ability to battle for points have been swept aside.

“This was a very important result. I imagine what would have happened if we had lost,” Wenger said.

“Mathematically it is very important to stay close to the top and to show what kind of determination and spirit we have.

“We made errors, especially against Tottenham, but I didn't question our quality to play for the championship.

“We have been questioned, but we show that this side has spirit no matter who plays.

“We went out to win, no matter what. We won against a great Manchester United team and the difference was that we took our chances.

“The only thing in our job that matters is to show how much you want it and to show quality. I never doubted the spirit of my players.

Four defeats this season already is a rarity for a side managed by Wenger, and the next Premier League match against Aston Villa is a vital one as they aim to prove that early season dips in form are behind them.

Wenger can take heart from the way his patched-up team, who were missing first-choice forwards Emmanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie, stuck together to shrug off a dispiriting run of results

“I don't agree any more when people say you need a leader,” he explained. “Football has evolved and the game is so quick that you need shared leadership, with five or six leaders in the team.

“We had 11 leaders. Everybody took initiative at the right moment.”

While Wenger looks forward with renewed confidence, Ferguson must lift his side after they once again failed to kill off a title rival.

A draw at Chelsea and away defeats at Liverpool and now Arsenal must concern the Scot as he aims for a third successive title, but it was his misfiring forwards who got under his skin most on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov all lacked a cutting edge to finish United's impressive approach play.

“The number of chances we had was incredible,” said Ferguson. “But it was fantasy football out there, it was like playground stuff. 'You attack, we attack'.

“They got the goal that mattered but I felt we should have got a penalty when Gael Clichy handballed (in the first half). But you don't always get the breaks you need.

“I think we probably deserved something from the game. We gave away a bad second goal and in the main our team performance was very good.

“Sometimes you have to hold your hands up. If we are going to be beaten I want it to be against a team that plays great football, and Arsenal did that at times.”

After the shock of conceding those late goals to Tottenham, Arsenal showed far more nerve to survive six minutes of injury time against United and midfielder Cesc Fabregas insisted they are now a tougher nut to crack.

“We realise we can not let ourselves make the same mistakes as the ones we made against Tottenham,” Fabregas said.

“We didn't make those mistakes and we are very pleased to come through those six minutes. We have to keep going now, one game at a time.”