Wenger roused by gritty Gunners

Arsene Wenger said Arsenal’s dramatic 2-1 win over Burnley on Sunday was proof the Gunners have the character to catch Chelsea in the Premier League title race.

Wenger’s side was on the brink of suffering a damaging setback at Emirates Stadium after conceding a stoppage-time equalizer.

Having taken the lead through Shkodran Mustafi’s first goal for the club, Arsenal had Granit Xhaka sent off for a needless foul and then nearly imploded as Andre Gray struck from the spot following Francis Coquelin’s foul on Ashley Barnes.

Wenger was sent off for arguing with fourth official Anthony Taylor — an altercation that saw the manager push Taylor.

But Arsenal still snatched the points as Alexis Sanchez converted a penalty in the dying seconds after Laurent Koscielny was kicked in the head by Ben Mee.

The remarkable finale lifted Arsenal to second spot, eight points behind Chelsea, and Wenger is confident his players are mentally tough enough to deal with the title chase’s twists and turns.

“We got an unlikely win; when it is 10 against 11 with two minutes to go it is difficult to win,” Wenger said.

“I felt it was a bit frustrating to concede the penalty. Coquelin says he didn’t touch him.

“It was a tense game against a team that made it uncomfortable for us.

“We are a team that keeps going no matter what happens and that is a good thing.”

Wenger apologized for his clash with the officials but he was less forgiving about Xhaka’s second red card for Arsenal, and his third in total this season after also being dismissed for Switzerland.

Blaming Xhaka for failing to follow instructions to stay on his feet, Wenger warned the midfielder to curb his overzealous tackles.

“Once we were 1-0 up we made it more complicated by going down to 10 men,” he said.

“Xhaka has to control his game and not punish the team with a lack of control in his tackling.

“We don’t encourage our midfielders to go down in their tackles and make this type of tackle.”

Sanchez ‘too cool’

Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Hull keeps the Blues in control at the top.

But Arsenal has won four of its last five league matches, and with a trip to Stamford Bridge looming on Feb 4, Wenger challenged his players to keep the pressure on the leader.

“It is not important to look at the table, it is important to build consistency. We need to build up a winning run,” he said.

Wenger also revealed he was surprised to see Sanchez take the decisive penalty.

The Chilean isn’t usually the Gunners’ first-choice penalty taker, but he avoided a tongue-lashing from W en ger with an audacious chipped finish for his 15th league goal this term.

“He was too cool,” Wenger said.

“He was the second penalty taker today, but as long as he scores you have to say well done.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche was in less sanguine mood after the Clarets’ ninth loss in 10 away league games this season.

Furious that Koscielny was not flagged offside as he was fouled for the spot-kick, Dyche fumed: “I can’t believe the decision.

“He had just put his flag up because he thinks he’s offside, then the ref gives the penalty and now the linesman has to be brave.

“He’s offside, simple as that. It’s really disappointing.

“You need the officials to do well. I don’t think at this level you can get that wrong.

“It leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”