Gunners boss feels that recent bad run of form is at an end after thrashing of rivals

Arsene Wenger has said that he feels confidence is returning to his side after Saturday’s 5-2 north London derby triumph, and that winning games is the only way to build up belief in his squad.

The Gunners ended a disappointing run of three games without a win – and twice surrendering a 2-0 lead - by thumping 10-man Spurs at the Emirates, a result that pushed them up to sixth in the Premier League table.

And Wenger admitted that he felt since the defeat at Norwich back on October 20 the Gunners had not been firing on all cylinders.

“We had some disappointing results. We lost at Man United without really being at our best after we lost against Schalke. That knocked a little bit the confidence of the team. The team knows as well the importance of a game like that.

“When they take it so much to heart the confidence goes as well when results don’t come. We missed a penalty in the last second against Fulham. You could see on Saturday that had an effect on the game as we had two times 2-0 up and didn’t win the game. You could see that when we were 4-2 up.

“We had as well a little drop physically. The dynamic of the team was a bit flat, we looked a bit flat physically. It is always hard to know how much is psychological and how much is physical.

“The result [against Spurs] will help to boost the confidence. Sometimes when you lose games you do not come back straight away and win – you go through one or two draws and then you win. Then you are back. This result will be tremendous for us.”