Arsene Wenger has attempted to shift the pressure away from his Arsenal Football Club players, as they moved to the summit of the Premier League on Saturday.

Despite being reduced to ten-men when Thomas Vermaelen was shown a red card, the Gunners beat West Ham United 2-0 courtesy of an early Denilson goal and a Cesc Fabregas penalty.

This returned the Emirates Stadium club to the top of the table, although both Chelsea and Manchester United could leapfrog them on Sunday afternoon.

Arsenal are now being considered as genuine contenders for the Premier League crown, but Wenger believes his side, often written off this season, have exceeded expectations.

"We are not under any special pressure because we are beyond expectation,” he said. "We want to win the trophy because we are all conscious we have won nothing yet.

“The hunger is there, the talent is there and I think the nerves are there. All we can do is rely on the other results of the other teams, so the only thing we can do is master our own results.

"We have a good chance to do it this year. It will be exciting, tight and the response we gave today in the second half was very important in future games."

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