Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gestures during a training session ahead of their Champions League soccer match against Borussia Dortmund, at their training facility in London Colney, north of London November 25, 2014.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gestures during a training session ahead of their Champions League soccer match against Borussia Dortmund, at their training facility in London Colney, north of London November 25, 2014. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes that doubts concerning his squad's physicality, or lack thereof, has been answered when they played West Ham United on Sunday.

Their London rivals are one of the more physical teams this season, playing under Sam Allardyce's philosophy.

"It was a very important game for us and we knew that we had a very physical game in front of us," said Wenger.

"I was a bit worried because we played with 10 men for 40 minutes against QPR and had to turn up here two days later, but we had a united, combative and very solid performance."

"We are questioned a lot about our physicality and we had a good opportunity to show that we could do it - and we did it in a very convincing way."

The Gunners needed to deal with Andy Carroll's imposing 6-foot-4 frame, as well as the rest of the attackers that have an average height of 6-foot-1 on the defensive end.

Cheikhou Kouyate clawed one back for the Hammers in the second-half, but a two goal cushion courtesy of Santi Cazorla's spot-kick conversion and Danny Welbeck's well-placed strike in the first-half proved enough for them to end up victorious.

Meanwhile, Wenger saw the win as a spark that could give them some sort of momentum heading into 2015.

"It's a good opportunity for us to do well in a big game," he added.

"We can get some confidence from [West Ham], we drew 2-2 at Liverpool and they equalised in the final minute. I feel we have enough confidence to do well."

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