The Frenchman has come under the most pressure of his 21-year reign at Arsenal after dismal defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League and a 5-1 Champions League humiliation at Bayern.
And although Wenger admitted the Gunners had just a “one or two per cent chance” of turning round their last 16 tie against the German giants tonight at the Emirates, he insisted his side won’t go out without a fight.
North London rivals Spurs are second in the Premier League, six points clear of Arsenal, but are out of both the Champions League and Europa League.
And Wenger couldn’t resist a dig yesterday, saying: “Yeah, everything is a negative at the moment – basically the teams that have gone out in the group stage, they are happy you know, but we have gone through and we are in crisis.”
The Frenchman did accept his team needed to make amends for their performance in the Allianz Arena three weeks ago, particularly the second half when they conceded three goals in 10 minutes and four in total.
He wants his men to be inspired by “lucid rage”, explaining that he expected them to be fired up to the max.
"I want total commitment, but not a silly one,” he said.
“You need a good combination of commitment but as well, I think, to keep your vision.
“Look, we missed 45 minutes at Munich and we have an opportunity to put it right. Let’s not fool ourselves, we have a one or two per cent chance. But you never know – that’s why we have to focus on the quality of our performance.
“You can miss 45 minutes and we paid for it. So we have to show 90 minutes of commitment.
“We finished top of the group, PSG finished second, and they beat Barcelona 4-0.
“Why? Because Barcelona missed the game completely. We have to give our best. It’s in a difficult climate at the moment because we have just lost at Liverpool, so it’s a bit more tense.
“So we have to earn our freedom to play because, at the moment, we play a little bit with the handbrake.
“In this game, maybe because we have nothing to lose, we can let the handbrake off and play with more freedom.”
Another poor result tonight will see doubts grow about Wenger’s future, with the scrutiny on the 67-year-old already intense, particularly following Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Anfield and his shock decision to leave 20-goal Alexis Sanchez on the bench until the second half.
His current contract is up at the end of the season, but he insists the latest “crisis” at Arsenal won’t prove pivotal to whether he stays at the club.
“You do not make this kind of decision focusing on one or two bad results,” Wenger said.
“You have to take a bigger picture and see can you take this club to the next level, take yourself to the next level, are you ready to pay the price for that? This decision is not necessarily linked with two weeks out of 20 years. I don’t feel I box myself in a corner.”
