‘Liverpool win my favourite of cup run’

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Liverpool is his favourite game from this year’s run to the FA Cup semi-finals.

The Gunners were beaten heavily at Anfield a week before their fifth-round clash at Emirates Stadium, but responded to progress with goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski.

The Arsenal manager was delighted with the character the team showed and believes it bodes well for Saturday’s tie with Wigan Athletic.

“We've played some very good teams in order to get to this stage of the competition and the atmosphere at the Emirates has been very good,” Wenger told Arsenal Player.

“The games against Tottenham, Liverpool and Everton were all tight and that provokes excitement. The win against Liverpool maybe gave me the most satisfaction because it was just one week after we were beaten in a convincing way at Anfield.

“I think winning that game showed that we can respond to disappointments in a very positive way. My team has a strong mentality and they recover from disappointments. They want to do well and the Liverpool game was a good opportunity to show that.”

Wenger is wary of the threat posed by Wigan this weekend, but is confident his side have the quality to secure their place in the final.

“Wigan have always had good teams in recent years but when you reach a semi-final you just consider it an opportunity to get to the final, be your opponents Wigan or anyone else,” he said.

“But we have a big experience as a team. We have played everywhere in Europe so we know that you just adapt to the quality of the pitch, to the opponent and you give your best.”