Arsene Wenger is “convinced” that Arsenal can bring to an end their patchy record in the Champions League by winning this year’s competition.

Arsenal got their campaign off to a winning start last night, defeating Borussia Dortmund and Wenger believes his team can challenge the likes of Real Madrid in this year’s Champions League.

“Everybody else perhaps thinks they will win the Champions League but they don’t say it. I will say it, because I’m convinced we can win it,” insisted Wenger.

“I believe the good signof this game is that we didn’t concede goals, as we usually do in the Champions League, and that makes me very optimistic.

“I have felt for the past two or three games that we are getting more stable at the back. We have also shown great teamwork, discipline, maturity and patience.

“It didn’t always go our way but we got through that frustration without making any mistakes at the back. It was a real test, not only on the football side but also mentally.”

Swedish sensation Freddie Ljungberg returned to the fold after a long-term lay-off with a hip injury and scored The Gunners’ second goal.

“I had just trained all week and hadn’t played before so it was a bit of asurprise to play from the start. I thought I would last 60 minutes,” confessed Ljungberg.

“But it doesn’t matter if you’re tired, you can still run at the end of the game. I’m delighted as it’s nice to play again and to have won a game which we knew was very difficult.”