LONDON -- Arsene Wenger hopes a return to Wembley will help Arsenal shake off any "negative vibes," and said the team's poor league form won't be a factor when they face Manchester City in Sunday's FA Cup semifinal.
Arsenal are struggling in the Premier League as they sit in sixth place, but have a long-standing habit of performing well in the FA Cup.
And Wenger, who has won the competition a record-equalling six times, is confident that his players can shake off their recent troubles when they walk onto the pitch at Wembley.
"Yes, it's a different competition," Wenger said as he looked ahead to the game. "Every competition brings a psychological atmosphere. We have many times seen teams not doing well in the championship and when it is different competition suddenly they are doing very well. They don't carry the negative vibes of bad experiences in this competition."
Wenger needs a win on Sunday to help turn around the mood of the fans after a difficult run of results. Many Arsenal supporters still want to see him step down when his contract expires this summer, although he insisted on Friday that the result at Wembley won't have an effect on his future.
A win would also boost the team's confidence ahead of next weekend's North London derby at Tottenham -- and possibly set up a dream final between the two rivals. Tottenham play Chelsea in Saturday's first semifinal, but Wenger said he hasn't even entertained the prospect of facing Spurs in the final at Wembley.
"No, not at all," he said. "If we had played for example a Championship team [in the semifinal], I would honestly say yes. But because we play City, I don't think about it like that. It would be absolutely stupid to speculate on the final.
"Let's first deal with City on Sunday and see what happens there. It's really a 50-50 game. If you ask the neutrals, maybe they will say City is favourites even."
Wenger faced a similar situation in 2014, when there was also uncertainty around his future but he ended up signing a new three-year deal after ending the club's nine-year trophy drought by lifting the FA Cup.
And he said the pressure on the team was even greater that year, especially as they played easier opponents in both the semifinal and final.
"It was a special pressure in 2014. It was difficult for us," he said. "We had not won a trophy for a long time. And people wanted us to win a trophy, or questioned us about winning a trophy."
In 2014, Arsenal beat Wigan in the semifinal and Hull in the final. In 2015, they also faced a Championship side -- Reading -- in the semifinal before beating Aston Villa in the final for back-to-back titles.
This time, they will need to beat two of the best teams in the country to lift the trophy. But whatever happens on Sunday, Wenger is well aware of the special atmosphere that will mark the occasion.
"It is the stadium," Wenger said. "When you play away from home you have a little part of your section for your supporters. Suddenly when you walk out there [at Wembley], half of the stadium is red and half is blue, so you realise it is something different."