FABREGAS: "Arsenal Scared of Losing"

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has admitted that his side lack 'confidence and mentality' and that, in big games, they suffer from a fear of defeat.

The Gunners have a poor record against the Premier League's top sides in recent years, losing their last four league games against champions Chelsea and winning just one of their last 10 games against Manchester United, who they lost 1-0 to last weekend. Now Fabregas claims that Arsenal fear defeat in major fixtures and were ''scared'' of losing at Old Trafford.

"They [United] were more aggressive than us," Fabregas said. "They have the belief that comes from not losing at all [in the league] this season. That gives you a lot of help mentally.

''I'm realising more and more that football is all about confidence and mentality. Sometimes you do the right thing but, if people tell you it's not right, you start believing it, even though you were right at first.

"I think the difference on the night was that we were scared of losing but they were not scared of winning. That was a big difference that played in our heads. Sometimes we seem scared of losing these big games - we don't really go for it and we're tempted to drop back and see what the opposition do.

''We look to see if we are capable of beating them by what they are doing and how good they are on the day, instead of us going forward, causing them problems and dominating the game ourselves."

Despite being two points and a game behind United at the top, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, however, believes the title race is unpredictable.

"This championship remains very open,'' he said. ''Don't forget that we have played at United, at City, at Chelsea and at Liverpool, so we are in a strong position. Now the rest of the season will be decided on how much we've learned, how much we improve and how much confidence we can take from our performances so far."*