Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger won his first FA Cup as Arsenal manager at Wembley in 1998. Reuters

Arsene Wenger is hopeful that Arsenal will take inspiration from their previous visits to Wembley to beat defending champions Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday.

The Gunners had the opportunity to play twice at the stadium after the rebuilding was completed in 2007. The first one was at this very stage of the competition in 2009 against Chelsea which ended in a 2-1 defeat.

We will be focused to renew the happy memories.
- Arsene Wenger

Their next game at this ground too bore the same outcome with the exact scoreline as Arsenal suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Birmingham City in the 2011 League Cup final.

However, the north Londoners have witnessed successes at Wembley in the past, winning the FA Cup for the first time under Wenger's managerial reign in 1998.

The Frenchman is rooting for his current batch of players to produce similar results at the stadium beginning with the semi-final against the Championship side and to go on and clinch the trophy next month.

"We have good memories of Wembley as well [as the defeats] and that is what we want to renew. We will be focused to renew the happy memories," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.

"What is important is that the size of the pitch is exactly the same and I don't think that the environment plays a big part in that. What is important is that we turn up and respond well to our disappointing performance on Sunday [at Everton in the Premier League]."

Arsenal's current form sees them come into Saturday's clash on the back of a four-match winless run in the league. They have managed just two victories in their last eight matches in all competitions.

Wenger's side have gone without lifting a single trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2005. The 64-year-old will be desperately hoping for the undesirable drought to end this year.

"We have many players who are 28, 29 and 30 years old - they have experience, they know what is at stake. [I expect] everyone to contribute. We have a lot of experience, and we are in a semi-final because we have produced great performances," Wenger said.

"We have played great games against Tottenham, Everton, Liverpool. They are not average teams, we have produced great performances and that's what we want to do again in the semi-final of the FA Cup," the Arsenal manager concluded.

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