Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger reaches record 11th FA Cup semi-final but says: 'Critics get on our back even if we win'

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Five goals against non-League Lincoln will not protect Arsene Wenger from criticism but did bring relief and created space to get a few things off his chest.

'You have to accept that nothing is good enough, you have to live with that,' said Wenger, having booked a record 11th FA Cup semi-final. 'People brainwash you with what they think is right.'

Wenger watched three re-runs of the bruising 5-1 home defeat against Bayern Munich last week and refused to accept his team played poorly until they were reduced to 10 men. 

Arsene Wenger believes the 5-0 thrashing of Lincoln in the FA Cup will not silence his critics

Wenger believed the loss to Bayern was down to the referee and not how his players played

Before Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Lincoln, he cast his eyes over the final 20 minutes of Barcelona's 6-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain and the blitz of three goals after the game's 88th minute.

'It is interesting when you see all the conclusions that come out of the game,' said Wenger.

'And the same people that speak after the game said with 10 minutes to go that PSG were absolutely outstanding.

'Ten minutes later, they are absolutely rubbish. It is always interesting to take a distance. To get out of that heated atmosphere and look at things in an objective way.

Arsenal's Theo Walcott scored in first half stoppage time and Lincoln never fully recovered 

The Gunners boss believes his team played well in the 5-1 thrashing by Bayern Munich 

'Sometimes it confirms what people say. Sometimes it doesn't. It's down to me to take the right distance. People are right and people are wrong as well. I managed about 2,000 games. I might know a little bit about the game as well.'

Many see Wenger's 20-year tenure at a natural end but he offered no hint of a man ready to opt for a life of less pressure despite acknowledging the overwhelming scrutiny of modern football.

'The importance of the game has become bigger,' said Wenger.

'You cannot escape any more. When you're a football player, even if you don't read, they tell you what people say. 

'Maybe 30 years ago, the guy who lost a game has one journalist who went with the players to the pub and had a beer and sometimes two or three or four or five more. 

Lincoln City manager Danny Cowley (right) talks to his brother and assistant Nicky

Aaron Ramsey capped a much-needed comfortable outing for Wenger's side with the fifth goal

'The world has changed. But no matter what happens in the future, you always have to lose games. 

'I cannot guarantee we will win all the games. We are in the semi-final of the FA Cup. How many times have we been?'

Wenger selected a full-strength team for the quarter-final and Lincoln resisted until first-half stoppage time, when Theo Walcott broke the deadlock. 

Strikes from Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez, Aaron Ramsey and a Luke Waterfall own goal pulled Arsenal clear.

An 11th semi-final for Wenger next month will break Sir Alex Ferguson's record of 10. 

The 67-year-old Frenchman has won the FA Cup six times, a record he shares with George Ramsay, who won his sixth with Aston Villa in 1920.

'On my mind is to win the next game,' said Wenger. 'I would love to do it but at the moment we are far from that. Let's get back to winning habits in the Premier League. We have a difficult game at West Brom on Saturday.'

Arsenal are fifth in the league with six strong teams contesting a place in the top four.

The beleaguered Frenchman knows an FA Cup triumph would silence some of his doubters

Wenger has already turned his focus on catching fourth-placed Liverpool in the league

'We want to finish as high as possible,' said Arsenal keeper Petr Cech. 'We are not far from second but we are far from first spot, but our aim is to finish second or as high as possible.

'The manager plays a big part but he cannot make you run if you don't want to and he cannot make you make the right decision in the heat of the moment.

'Everybody has to share the responsibility for the position we are in.'