Victory shows Arsenal character, says Mertesacker

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker says his side answered one or two questions about their temperament after defeating Wigan on penalties and reaching The FA Cup Final.

Mertesacker endured a harum-scarum day at Wembley, giving away the penalty as Wigan took the lead, and then powering home a late equaliser to take the match into extra-time.

But while Arsenal struggled to impose their superiority on second-tier opponents, the German says the grittiness of the victory was encouraging.

"We have great character, a lot of people questioned that recently, but how we came back proved we have some," he said.

“In the first half, we were timid. But I think we deserve it because of our second-half performance. 

"We hit the post twice and had some good chances. It was a good comeback.”