No more age excuses for Arsenal, says Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned his maturing team there can be no more age excuses if the club fail to land any honours for a fourth successive season.

"There is a period for any team to come out and show its strength. For my team this moment has come," the Frenchman told a news conference ahead of tomorrow's clash with Premier League leaders Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal's last trophy came in 2005 when the north London club beat Manchester United on penalties to win the FA Cup, but since then a succession of high-profile player departures and a stadium move have limited the funds available to Wenger.

The manager has instead set about moulding a free-flowing team of talented youngsters, who Wenger feels have matured considerably.

"We are not anymore a team that has to be considered to be young. I think we have the strength and we want to show that on Sunday that we are strong enough to beat them," Wenger said.