Gunners' confidence growing

LONDON - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger expressed hope Sunday's 2-2 draw with Manchester City represents a turning point after an extremely testing period in the club's recent history.

Criticism of Wenger from angry fans escalated during a run of four losses in five Premier League games that saw the Gunners slide out of the top four.

But while uncertainty about his future continues to linger, he hopes the gritty effort against City will help the team move on.

"Overall I felt it was a mental test and you could see the team was touched on the confidence front," he told his post-match media conference at Emirates Stadium.

"It will help us rebuild confidence because the players felt we showed some mental strength. It will help us come back to our natural fluency.

"Mathematically, for both teams it's not the best operation. But hopefully it will help us to restart."

The result kept Arsenal seven points below City, which occupies the fourth and final Champions League qualifying berth, but the Gunners retain a game in hand.

Fans protested against Wenger once again before the game.

An advertising van carrying a huge poster calling for his dismissal was parked near the ground, while leaflets were handed out to supporters urging them to join the 'Wenger Out' brigade.

But Wenger praised the supporters inside the stadium for throwing themselves behind the team.

"Despite all that happened, I felt our fans were fantastic," said the Frenchman, whose side entertains West Ham United on Wednesday.

Agence France-Presse