Wenger weighs in on one-man Tottenham

Wales international Gareth Bale scored his eighth goal in his last six appearances with a superb last-minute winner to beat West Ham 3-2 on Monday night, a victory which lifted Spurs up to third in the Barclays Premier League table.

The 23-year-old has proved pivotal to the success of Andre Villas-Boas' team this season, as Tottenham look to finish above their rivals for the first time in almost 20 years.

However, as the two sides prepare to do battle in the north London derby at White Hart Lane on Sunday, Wenger insists he has no special plans to shackle Bale - and declared his own side can produce plenty of attacking threats as they look to blow the race for Champions League football wide open again.

"At the moment I feel we can score from many positions and I prefer that, personally," said Wenger, whose side are unbeaten in five league games.

"We have many players who can score - (Theo) Walcott can score, (Olivier) Giroud can score, (Santi) Cazorla can score, (Lukas) Podolski can score, I think (Jack) Wilshere will score as well, so we have many.

"We have scored more goals than last year and last year our efficiency was always depending on (Robin) van Persie and I always worried about the day van Persie gets injured."

Despite Wenger's bravado that Arsenal should focus on their own game rather than worrying about what Bale might do at any given moment, the Arsenal manager concedes the 23-year-old, whom he once scouted when a raw youngster at Southampton, is in top form.

"Bale has good pace, at the moment he has a good conversion rate between the chances he creates and the goals he scores. That is quite cyclical (I think).

"I think it's certainly the best in Europe between in terms of conversion rate and chances created, but to maintain that is very, very difficult."

Wenger, however, maintains Arsenal must not become fixated on Bale.

"We don't plan for anybody. It is always the same - focus on our strengths and forget about your opponent," said Wenger, who will be without regular right-back Bacary Sagna once again because of an ankle problem.

"There is nobody special that you least like to face. All players have different qualities.

"What is important when you are a manager is that you are focused, that hasn't changed over the last 15 years, you always make sure your team is at its best, prepares well and focuses on playing the football that we love.

"What is important before a game like that is just to focus on our game and forget all the rest."

When Wenger first took charge at Arsenal, their rivals were languishing in mid-table.

However, in recent campaigns Spurs have slowly bridged the gap and are now a real threat to the Gunners' own Champions League qualification.

Wenger is in no doubt of what a derby double would do for the Arsenal fans, having seen their team thump Spurs 5-2 at the Emirates Stadium in November.

"The longer you stay here, the more you realise how some houses are divided in two and what impact it has on the mood of the week after of everybody," he said.

"It is an interesting game because there is something at stake and the outcome will give a big boost to the team who wins it.

"The game on Sunday will have a psychological importance for the rest of the season."