Arsene Wenger hopeful Arsenal will learn lessons from Man United defeat

Arsene Wenger is hopeful that Arsenal will have “learnt lessons” from their defeat by Manchester United ahead of Southampton’s trip to Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

The north London side were beaten 1-0 by the Red Devils before the international break as Robin van Persie came back to haunt his former club once again by netting a first-half winner at Old Trafford.

Despite the loss, Arsenal are still two points clear at the top of the Premier League table heading into Saturday’s clash against the Saints.

And Wenger is confident that his side’s display at Old Trafford underlined their status as genuine title contenders this season.

“What I learnt from my team is that we have the potential to play at the top,” said Wenger, who confirmed that Theo Walcott is back in the squad after shaking off an abdominal problem.

“In the first half we played with the handbrake on. I watched the game again [and] Man United had two shots on target – one of the two was the goal.

“[The fact] we could restrict them to very few chances away from home, that will hopefully teach us a lesson that in the next big games [that we must] play on full cylinders from the start.

“I talked about nerves because I found us nervy in our build-up, not in the second half but the first half.

“Before every game you have to accept you can win, lose or draw. But I know we have enough quality to decide games in our favour, so let’s focus on putting in a top-level performance and then you have a very good chance to win.”