London: Arsene Wenger hopes Arsenal`s early brush with adversity this season will help the Premier League leaders get back on track against managerless Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Wenger`s team suffered their first defeat in 13 matches in all competitions on Tuesday as Robert Lewandowski`s late goal gave Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 Champions League group stage win at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, currently two points clear of second placed Chelsea, looked stunned after losing for the first time since Aston Villa`s surprise victory in north London on the opening day of the season.
But that setback against Villa sparked far more fan fury than the midweek defeat to Dortmund and Wenger is confident the experience has left players battle-hardened and more capable of recovering their equilibrium in time for the trip to Selhurst Park.
"We want to respond quickly. We have faced that already in our season," Wenger said.
"I am confident in that capacity of my team to respond very quickly in a very strong way. That is the target on Saturday."
Palace parted company with boss Ian Holloway in midweek following a 4-1 thrashing by Fulham that left the south London club second bottom of the table with seven defeats in their eight league matches, but Wenger won`t underestimate this weekend`s opponents.
"You don`t speculate too much on how they will respond. I think what is important in our job is that you focus to be at your best and that we respond in a strong way to our disappointment on Tuesday," Wenger added.
In the unlikely event that Arsenal do drop points at Palace, Jose Mourinho`s Chelsea could go top if they beat fourth placed Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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Wenger`s team suffered their first defeat in 13 matches in all competitions on Tuesday as Robert Lewandowski`s late goal gave Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 Champions League group stage win at the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, currently two points clear of second placed Chelsea, looked stunned after losing for the first time since Aston Villa`s surprise victory in north London on the opening day of the season.
But that setback against Villa sparked far more fan fury than the midweek defeat to Dortmund and Wenger is confident the experience has left players battle-hardened and more capable of recovering their equilibrium in time for the trip to Selhurst Park.
"We want to respond quickly. We have faced that already in our season," Wenger said.
"I am confident in that capacity of my team to respond very quickly in a very strong way. That is the target on Saturday."
Palace parted company with boss Ian Holloway in midweek following a 4-1 thrashing by Fulham that left the south London club second bottom of the table with seven defeats in their eight league matches, but Wenger won`t underestimate this weekend`s opponents.
"You don`t speculate too much on how they will respond. I think what is important in our job is that you focus to be at your best and that we respond in a strong way to our disappointment on Tuesday," Wenger added.
In the unlikely event that Arsenal do drop points at Palace, Jose Mourinho`s Chelsea could go top if they beat fourth placed Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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