Wenger expects focus against Newcastle

Arsene Wenger is convinced Arsenal will show no signs of complacency when they host Newcastle on Sunday.

Arsenal recently beat Newcastle 4-0 in the Carling Cup but, having seen his side slip up at home to West Brom as well as losing at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League this week, Wenger has urged his side to fully focus on the task in hand.

"We were too sure that we would win the West Brom game," he said on the club's official website. "We will not repeat that against Newcastle. We know they are a good side and, on that front, the fact that they have beaten Sunderland 5-1 is a good warning for us.

"Against West Ham, we knew before the game that it would be difficult, but what I liked very much is that we were very patient, intelligent and calm. I think I was most pleased with our patience.

"We were not as sharp or fluent as we can be but we were intelligent and didn't make a defensive mistake like we did, for example, against Shakhtar."

He added: "If you look, we have got ourselves in a very interesting situation. It's now time for us to take advantage of that.

"When we went to Manchester City, we were three points behind them and on the same level as Tottenham. Today we have made a little difference with these clubs because we have had two good wins, so for us it's important to continue to push forward now."

Jack Wilshere will be available for selection after serving a three-match ban following a dangerous challenge in the 2-1 win over Birmingham last month.

"It [the suspension] was frustrating and it was boring," Wilshere said. "I look back at it [the tackle] and it was stupid really. It was the last minute and it was a bad touch, I went into the challenge and that was it.

"Obviously I am going to learn from that. I was playing week-in, week-out and then I was stopped for three games.

"It is important to learn to look after yourself but there is a line and maybe I went over that line at that time. It was a mis-timed challenge, I have learned from it and now I have to move on from it.

"I am only 18 and at this time in my career it is all about learning. I have said it before - playing with people like Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri you are going to learn off them."

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 7 Nov 10