Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has explained his side’s remarkable comeback to beat Aston Villa yesterday as happening because "we wanted to stay in the cup."

 

The Gunners found themselves 2-0 behind at the Emirates against Aston Villa, with Richard Dunne and Darren Bent looking to have sent Alex McLeish’s men through to the next round of the FA Cup.

 

For Arsenal, defeat would have been not just confirmation of a recent slump, with their fourth consecutive loss, but would also have removed a realistic trophy chance.

 

And Wenger revealed that what was witnessed showed his players were determined for that not to happen, as two Robin van Persie penalties and a Theo Walcott goal handed the Gunners a remarkable 3-2 win.

 

"We wanted to stay in the cup", said Wenger.

 

"The players deserve credit for not giving up.

 

"I felt 2-0 was very harsh for us at half-time, but it was a question of scoring and keeping our structure and not doing anything silly.

 

"Fortunately we got an early goal to make it 2-1. The players showed a lot of character.

 

"It was a good test of our mental qualities and we passed the test well."

 

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