Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes that it is harder for players to deal with stress as every defeat is labelled a "crisis" in the modern game.

This season, the Gunners have struggled to launch a Premier League title charge, but they remain in contention for Champions League triumph and the FA Cup, of which they are the holders.

While the North London outfit are still part of Europe's elite, they face a tough task to qualify for the quarter-finals as they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Monaco in the first leg of their last-16 encounter a fortnight ago.

Wenger believes that the pressure on players nowadays makes it more difficult for professionals to cope with stress in the game.

"There is a verdict on everything so that kind of stress has increased and it's much more difficult to deal with than it was a few years ago," Wenger told the club's official website.

"Twenty years ago you could lose a game and people would say, 'next time Arsenal will play better'. Today you lose a game and it is always a crisis. It's not easy for the players to deal with that."

This weekend, Arsenal will take on West Ham United at the Emirates in the league.