Laurent Koscielny has admitted that the players at Arsenal doubted Arsene Wenger during the beginning of this season.

The Gunners struggled for form in the first half of the campaign and Koscielny reveals that the squad were concerned by the crisis.

Koscielny told The Sun: "It can happen that a small grain of sand jams the engine and after that you start to doubt your own qualities, the club, the coach and everything else. We needed to sort that out. Everyone got down to doing just that, the coach, the club."

The French defender also concedes that the team were not putting in enough effort in the early stages of this season.

"The group was not giving enough for the club and we realised that," he said.

"We got down to work and we said the things we needed to say. After that, one win, two wins, confidence returns and things follow on from that. The new players were immersed in the group and so on."

Arsenal would secure third place in the Premier League with a win against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.