Arsene Wenger has admitted that Arsenal have thrown away their title chances in the past because of a malignant team spirit fuelled by players wanting to leave after being tapped up by richer clubs.

But the manager believes the club’s economic strength means they are now much better placed to sustain a title challenge after conceding that having to sell key players contributed to meltdowns between 2008 and 2011.

Wenger, whose team travel to injury-hit Manchester United on Sunday requiring a win to maintain their title momentum following the 1-0 victory of leaders Leicester over Norwich, said players had been tapped up and lost focus, resulting in a fractured dressing room that put paid to title ambitions.

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal have thrown away title in the past because players have forced moves away

Famously in February 2008, Arsenal conceded a penalty late in added time at Birmingham for 2-2 draw.

That match saw an horrific injury to Eduardo that seemingly shattering their confidence in the league and featured an emotional breakdown from William Gallas, who sat sobbing in the centre circle. In 2010 an FA Cup fourth-round loss to Stoke precipitated a run of defeats in the Premier League which effectively ended their chances; and, in 2011, a shock 2-1 defeat by Birmingham in the Carling Cup final prompted a run that ended the season.

But Wenger insists the economic strength of the club has an enormous impact psychologically. ‘What is different is that at that time we were losing momentum,’ he said. ‘This time it’s the opposite. We are chasing and gaining momentum. We have had two difficult games recently but overall the psychological situation is quite different.

James McFadden salvaged a point for Birmingham in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal in February 2008

The match was overshadowed by Arsenal's Eduardo suffering a broken leg after a tackle by Martin Taylor

Wenger had to comfort defender William Gallas after the injury to Eduardo due to the effect it had on him

‘We were very young at those times, with the famous incident with Gallas at Birmingham. And the mood of some players was to get the next contract somewhere else rather than to win the championship because we had to sell.

‘When we went into April some players were tapped up to go somewhere else and it was difficult to maintain the focus. That’s not the case at the moment.

‘Now we don’t have that problem at all. All the players are focused and want to win and have great solidarity. It’s down to showing how good we are. The psychological situation is completely different. In 2010-2011, we lost it because the spirit was not exactly what it should be because of tap-ups. At the moment, I think on the spirit front we are all right.’

The French manager says his players are all focused to win and have 'great solidarity' among one another

He says that the current Arsenal team has the right spirit and that is always going to be difficult to dampen

The exodus of star players begun with Thierry Henry moving to Barcelona in 2007. Alex Hleb also went to Barcelona in 2008, with Mathieu Flamini leaving for AC Milan.

At the end of the 2009 season Arsenal were feeling the effects of Manchester City’s push for power, with Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure moving there. In 2011, they lost Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp and Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri (right), again to City.

Arsenal recorded £193 million of cash reserves in September, have no need to sell and can now attract stars such as Alexis Sanchez and Petr Cech. ‘This is a team that’s very hungry,’ said Wenger. ‘They want to win and I think they’ve shown that in the FA Cup in the last two years. This team wants to do well and is very conscientious and my job is more to relax them a little bit. They do not look at what happened five years ago, they look at what is in front of them. It’s certainly top, spirit-wise.’

Thierry Henry (right) was one of the players to leave Arsenal when he moved to Barcelona in 2007

Samir Nasri was another player who eventually left after Arsenal agreed to sell him to Manchester City in 2011

Wenger is not ready to compare them to the Invincibles, the unbeaten team from 2003-04, but he does believe this is the best team spirit he has had since then.