Newcastle can revive Arsenal's invincibility: Wenger

Arsene Wenger hopes the visit of Newcastle United on Saturday will remind Bobby Robson that Arsenal "don't know how to lose".

Newcastle manager Robson levelled that accusation at Arsenal after his side beat the north London club 3-1 at Highbury last December.

The game was tainted with controversy as Arsenal striker Thierry Henry clashed with referee Graham Poll at the final whistle, leading Robson to question Arsenal's sense of sportsmanship.

But with the English champions stuck in a run of five defeats in six games, Wenger is now using Robson's comment to motivate his own players back to winning ways.

"I didn't take Bobby's words personally, but I certainly analysed them at the time to see in what spirit he meant them," Wenger told reporters.

"Obviously he felt we gave a frustrated reaction during that match (last season), and I can take that.

"But of course, from that game on, we didn't lose again all season," Wenger joked.

"What is sure is that if you want to last in this job you can't be a good loser, or else you'll be out of the job.

"Defeat hurts everyone at this club...we have winners in this team and we know that. We want to win every game we play. We should not lose."

After Newcastle left north London with all three points last season, Arsenal did not lose another game for the rest of the campaign as they captured the English premier league and FA Cup double.

Although an under-strength side lost 3-2 to Sunderland in the League Cup on Wednesday, a 1-0 league victory over Fulham last Sunday allowed Wenger to breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"When you've been on such a long winning run, to lose is even harder to accept," said Wenger, whose side are four points behind leaders Liverpool.

"When you lose four in a row as we did, to get back to winning ways is difficult.

"But we did that by beating Fulham and I am convinced we restored our belief and determination then. It was a big moment for us."