Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said that he is pleased with the resilience shown by his players this season.

Olivier Giroud scored the only goal of the game as the Gunners beat Newcastle United in their Premier League clash, and Wenger admits that they have shown "great spirit" and consistency throughout the year.

"There is something in the team that is special on the mental front where we have many times been questioned," he told the club's official website.

"But we have shown that at West Ham when we were 1-0 down, we have shown that again today when we were a bit backs to the wall in the last 15 minutes. There's a great solidarity and a great spirit in the side.

"For years we were younger [and less able] to resist this kind of pressure but we have always been up there at the top. If you analyse well our results we have always been up there. Last year in this period we were out of the title race but 2013 we have been quite consistent."

Arsenal are currently top of the Premier League table.