Although Koscielny's injury cast a worrying shadow over Arsenal's victory, Wenger was delighted with the way his team responded to their 3-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Saturday.
"We faced a lot of challenges on Saturday and tonight again," he said. "That is part of the intensity of the game - there was so much at stake you can understand that.
"I believe we played in a very, very heated atmosphere against a good team but we had a proactive attitude from the first minute on, and that was certainly very important tonight.
"We did not come in shaking but came in resolute and determined and with a desire to take the game to them and overall we were in control.
"This team has shown a lot of mental strength. I told you yesterday that you had forgotten that this team has lost only one game since March under very, very special circumstances."
Wenger was especially delighted by the midfield performance of Aaron Ramsey. "I think he is now a stature, a physical presence," he said. "The quality of our midfield was vital tonight."
Theo Walcott provided the cross from which Kieran Gibbs put Arsenal into the lead. "We were talking about Gibbs's goals this afternoon and he did cry like a little girl when he cut his eyebrow the other day," Walcott said. "I said at half-time the left-back was struggling and if you keep at them they will die at some point."
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