Arsene Wenger believes the confidence of his Arsenal team is returning slowly, but surely.

The Gunners recovered from last week's disappointing 3-0 loss at Crystal Palace by beating Middlesbrough 2-1 in a hard-fought affair at the Riverside Stadium on Monday night.

While Arsenal were certainly not at their best, the Frenchman was delighted to see them play with a willingness to win which saw the North Londoners return to sixth on the Premier League table.

"When you are lacking in confidence it always comes back slowly and good results help," Wenger told Sky Sports.

"I felt we were focused and committed - but you could see that we don't play with full confidence during some moments in the game. We really wanted to win.

"In the second half when it opened up we missed the final ball when we could've added one or two more. Middlesbrough were dangerous on crosses and set-pieces.

"It was a competitive game as this was one of their last chances to stay in the league. They gave everything."