Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has defended his decision not to go for the Carling Cup this season.

"Is a trophy to finish 12 and win the Carling Cup? Not for me," he said. "You see the quality of a team after 38 games.

"In the Carling Cup or the FA Cup, you play five games in the final and could be drawn against second division teams. But you have no quality and are not there at the end of the championship.

"For me, when you're in a big club, the important thing is that you are fighting for the title. If you don't win it, of course you are frustrated.

"After you can say it is not good enough to win it, okay. But you have to accept levels are very high - possibly the highest in the world - and in the end, two or three points is not a big gap.

"We were very close to doing it last season and were the most unlucky team, with so many bad injuries.

"We finished with 83 points last season, lost only three games, and we have stability in our club which allows us to feel we will be better this year.

"I know we are not making the headlines with big names, but what is important is what we produce on the pitch."