Wenger: Win underlines maturity

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is convinced Tuesday night's 2-1 win at Watford is proof his young side are maturing fast.

The Gunners moved into third place thanks to Robin van Persie's late winner after Tommy Smith had wasted no time in cancelling out Gilberto Silva's early opener. Wenger's side, who had thrashed Blackburn 6-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, are still well adrift of Manchester United and Chelsea, having dropped points away from home earlier in the season.

But Wenger believed his players were now getting the hang of grinding out results on the road, saying: "It is important for us to win away from home because I feel we have improved. We have won in a great way against Tottenham and Blackburn and I feel that the team has become mature."

He added: "If you are a small team and you win 6-2 I guarantee that 90 times out of 100 you lose the next game.

"I said before the game that to win by one goal would be a great result and it shows the team have grown up, which is something very important.

"Last year we didn't win these sort of games so we have improved on that side. Of course we still have much to do but it is a pleasure to work with these players because they want to improve and there is a great spirit in the side."