BIRMINGHAM, England (AFP) - Arsene Wenger is convinced Arsenal can finally put the memory of their nightmare trip to Birmingham City two years ago behind them this weekend.

Then, in February 2008, the Gunners arrived at St Andrew's five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

But their title challenge collapsed after a traumatic afternoon that began with a career-threatening injury to striker Eduardo and ended with a last minute Birmingham equaliser.

There followed an astonishing display of petulance by Arsenal captain William Gallas who remained sat on the pitch long after the final whistle.

Arsenal's season collapsed from that point and their demise allowed Manchester United to take the title.

Now Arsenal manager Wenger's side return in second place, lying two points behind leaders United after hauling themselves back into the title race with six successive league wins.

The Frenchman believes his team are much tougher now than they were two years ago and cites the way they overcame the loss of Aaron Ramsey to a broken leg in a win at Stoke this season as evidence of their mental strength.

"We did not deal well with that particular incident on the day, with the situation we faced," Wenger said as he recalled the 2008 match.

"But exactly the same happened at Stoke, and we responded in a very strong manner.

"I do not think on that particular day we lost the championship. There were much more heavier ingredients, like some players not completely focused, and afterwards we had players who were at the end of contracts."

And he added: "We can only focus on our own performance because we know our route has to be perfect.

"To be perfect, it is important we focus on our performances.

"We needed some help from the other teams, but we know even that only now works if we are consistent and can keep our momentum.

"We have created a fantastic momentum and a great belief within our squad, but the consistency of our run is the most important."

Arsenal's cause won't be helped by the absence of Thomas Vermaelen, suspended for one game after the defender was sent off against London rivals West Ham last weekend.

With Gallas also out with a long-standing groin problem, Wenger must decide whether to partner former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre or young midfielder Alex Song with veteran Sol Campbell at the back.

Eduardo will be in the Arsenal squad although the Brazil-born Croatia international has yet to recover his best form since his injury.

"I have not spoken to him yet about that, but it will certainly have a weight in his mind," Wenger said.

"That is part of a career as well, to show you have that mental strength to deal with those kind of situations and Eduardo has a lot of mental strength. He can deal with that."

Birmingham's target is to maintain their place in the top half of the table after an impressive return to the top-flight following a single season back down in the Championship.

City manager Alex McLeish will be anxious to not to let standards drop, particularly following Wednesday's 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.

That marked City's fifth loss in six away games but they have a formidable record at home where they have not been beaten since September.

"I'm disappointed, not happy with some of the defending, and I've kicked their backsides, but I expect that they'll rise again to the occasion," said former Aberdeen centre-half McLeish after the Blackburn defeat.

Tottenham are believed to be taking a close interest in former Arsenal star Lassana Diarra.

The £17million-rated 25 year-old French star has fallen out with Real Madrid boss Manuel Pellegrini and could be allowed to leave in the summer if the Spanish side find a suitable replacement first.

Diarra joined Madrid from Portsmouth in January 2009.

Of all the leg breaks to curse Arsenal recently, perhaps the least remarked upon took place in pre-season in the Austrian village of Bad-Waltersdorf, a tranquil place known for its vineyards and thermal spas. It was here that Samir Nasri was warming up for what he hoped would be a progressive campaign. He had one year in English football under his belt, and was eager to throw himself into the next. Arsène Wenger had "great expectations" for him. And there, in the Austrian sunshine, Nasri surged into a tackle on Abou Diaby and crumpled. His fibula was shattered.

Like anyone removed from the vocation they adore, Nasri detested his time on the sidelines. "When you are outside the pitch for four months, you see your team-mates playing and doing well, you need to come back with the attitude that you want to kill everyone," he says. "You don't want to stay on the bench. You want to play every game."

He has played most games since returning in late October, but the curious thing about him is you are never quite sure what you are going to get. Will it be the beguiling Nasri who is capable of such marvels as his slalomed goal against Porto? Will it be the streetwise Nasri who showed Arsenal wouldn't be bullied as he aggravated Hull City in December? Or will it be the subdued Nasri who struggled to deliver against Manchester United in January?

By his own candid admission, the ingredient he lacks is consistency. Nasri divides opinion back home in France. For some he is forever le petit prince de Marseille, a maestro with delightful touch and energy who should be a starter for Les Bleus. For others he is nothing to get overexcited about.

Is this fair comment? "Yeah," says Nasri. "Some games I can be fantastic and the next a little bit …" He waves his hand in a gesture of ambivalence. "Consistency is what I miss." He is still only 22 years old, so he hopes that will come. The question of how close he is to the maximum provokes a blushing laugh. "I think I am far away," he confesses. "Sometimes I do things in training and think: Ah! I need to do that in a game. If I do I will be close to my full potential."

Like the bulk of this evolving squad, Nasri is a work in progress. Being part of a team that is growing up together thrills the young Frenchman. "Since the start we knew we could do something great," he says. "I really enjoy being part of this. Outside the pitch we are friends and I think that also makes the difference. We are really together." He knits his fingers tightly for emphasis. "You can see the solidarity on the pitch. Everyone is fighting for everyone."

The criticism in the aftermath of double defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea a few weeks ago galvanised them. "We are proud. Everyone said Arsenal is finished. But between us we said we wanted to prove we have the strength and the mentality to be winners. Last year we made some mistakes against small teams like Hull, and this year we make the difference. We are stronger in our heads." On the home stretch, he feels this enhancement is particularly crucial. "Now it is 90% in the mind. If you don't have the mentality you can't use your technique."

Nasri has always felt strong in his head. It's something in the Marseille air. The soul of the place breeds robust characters and his personality is a mix of warm humour with an assertive edge. His spirit as well as skill was honed in street football and he credits that background with giving him the foundation to make it as a professional. "I wasn't just playing football on the street. I grew up on the street," he says. "You need to be proud and have faith. It hurt physically sometimes but I really enjoyed those years on the street."

He joined Marseille at nine years old, and was soon making waves. Aged 16 he scored the winning goal as France won the Under-17 European Championship (incidentally, the kid voted "golden player" of that tournament was not a Frenchman, but a Spaniard by the name of Cesc Fábregas). A few weeks later he made his debut for his boyhood club. By 19 he was named the best young player in Ligue 1, earned his first full cap, and won Marseille's player of the year award with a massive majority of the vote.

Nasri and Marseille was a blissful love affair. Experts in France were surprised that even a precocious player could command such an important playmaker's position at his age. Soon he was being likened to the icon who is an obvious benchmark to any Marseille kid with Algerian roots – Zinedine Zidane. "It was too much pressure," Nasri says. "When people made that comparison I was only 17, and he was the best player in the world. That's why some people expect me to improve more because they have this vision of me. You can't be the best every game. Even Messi can have a bad game."

Not recently he hasn't. Barcelona loom large on the horizon and Nasri feels positive about dancing toe to toe with the Champions League favourites when they arrive at the Emirates Stadium for Wednesday's quarter-final first leg. He insists his team can do some damage if they concentrate on themselves. "I think that's the key of the game," he explains. "We have to play our game and not think about what they can do and get scared about Barcelona. We need to be optimistic."

This is the start of a monumental week, with one of the more challenging fixtures in Arsenal's title run-in taking them to St Andrew's this afternoon. Again, Nasri's mantra is to shut out everything but themselves. Any hullaballoo about the fateful last visit, with memories of Eduardo's shattered leg, William Gallas's meltdown, and a last-minute penalty conceded, is interference they don't want. "We need to be focused just about this game - not to think about Barcelona, and not to think about what happened two years ago in Birmingham. We just need to think about this game as only a win is enough.

"Now everyone feels in Arsenal you need to be a winner. I come from Marseille. I know this mentality. There is more pressure there than here. In Marseille the fans are mad and the president comes to talk to you if you lose one game. I hate losing. Even at the training ground if we play some five-a-side I need to win. Now I think everyone in the squad has this feeling and wants to be a winner."

He feels he has an enormous amount to fight for in the coming weeks, including the battle to regain his place in the French national team. Nasri has not featured at all this season for Les Bleus. He was capped nine times in the season before leaving for London. "I was a little bit disappointed but you have to say nothing," he believes. "The better answer is on the pitch. If we win the Premier League and do something in the Champions League and I have some good games I think I can be with the national team."

Might it have something to do with his position? Raymond Domenech struggles to see Nasri as a wide player. For a while the man himself struggled with it too, as he sacrificed a style better suited to the area of the pitch reserved for Fábregas. Time, he thinks, will help him to play more instinctively on the flanks. "I need more games there because I grew up always playing in the middle. Now I am starting to have the sensation to play wide, but more games will help me. I prefer to be central but if I need to play right-back I will if it will help the team."

That sense of team has pulled Arsenal's youngsters together in a relentlessly challenging season. Nasri is desperate for a happy ending. Since his triumph with the French Under-17s he has not held another winner's medal. He winces as he recalls two cup final defeats with Marseille, concluding with a wry smile, "I hope I can win something because if not I will think I am someone unlucky." He ribs himself, dusts himself down, and wanders off to think about Birmingham. And nothing else.

Avid Arsenal fan and professional singer Andy Abrahams has revealed on UK commercial radio station talkSPORT this morning that he heard the ’sad news’ of a player set to leave the club in the summer whilst performing at Theo Walcott’s 21st birthday party last week.

Abraham was quizzed on whether he picked up any gossip at Walcott’s lavish bash, and the passionate fan confirmed he had some bad vibes from his meeting with the players. He described the news as ‘very sad for the summer’ while also admitting it wasn’t 100% but very probable that it will be announced come the end of the campaign.

Presenter Mark Saggers tried to quiz Abraham further, but he refused to give out anymore details of what he had picked up, but completed the interview all but confirming it was a player leaving that would be the ’sad news’.

Captain Cesc Fabregas and former skipper William Gallas have been constantly linked with moves away this term.