It has been a crushing week for the Gunners, as Blackburn Rovers dumped them out of the FA Cup at the Emirates and Bayern Munich left in midweek with a commanding 3-1 victory in the Champions League.
Wenger has his sights set on next season, where he hopes to transform his misfiring players into a team capable of winning Cups again.
“We are not far away, even if it is difficult to convince you of that today,” Wenger stated. “We have a basis of a team that is very strong and we need to strengthen the team where in the positions we feel where we are a bit weaker.
“I believe in some areas of our team we can compete with anybody in the world as we are analyse all the European and English teams and in some areas of our team we are very competitive. We speak about Wilshere, Cazorla and we have a very strong technical basis, but we have to be more efficient.
“We are not so far from a team like Bayern, who are in a position where they are like Manchester United is in England. They can afford to do what they want. They are the strongest financial club. You send Chelsea and Man City to Germany and we will speak about Bayern again.
“You have to compare what is comparable. Bayern do what they want in their country and they can spend the money when they want as they are the only dominating club. They have no competition financially in Germany.”
The French manager was also adamant that he is the right man to lead the North London out of trouble, as he has not lost faith in his own abilities.
He said: “Of course I can take the club forward and I believe the fans are still with the club, which is very important. I work for the club and I try to keep the fans happy. If they are not happy then I am unhappy as well. That’s part of my job, not everybody is always with you, and not everybody is always against you.”
He also went on to state that he must show leadership and remain strong in the face of adversity, to help his team go through difficult phases.
“I’m in a strong mood because if I am not I don’t see how my team can be,” he added. “I have enough experience in my job to know you have to deal with all kind of situations and this is one that is difficult to handle, but it’s also a good opportunity to show that we have strength to deal with it.
“We are fighting for a Champions League place, not against relegation and we have to take that in a positive way if we are to stay at the top. For us, the status of the club goes through the Champions League and we need some strength to get into this competition again. I think everyone realises that.”
