Hot-head Van Persie told to calm it

Arsene Wenger will tell Robin van Persie that he must learn to curb his temper.

When Arsenal assemble tonight ahead of tomorrow's game with Birmingham, Wenger will hold an anger management meeting with the 21-year-old Dutchman to talk about his flashes of petulance during the Carling Cup quarter-final defeat against Manchester United on Wednesday.

Although the Football Association rejected a plea from United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to charge Van Persie for throwing an elbow at Kieran Richardson, Wenger is keen to make sure that the attacking midfielder maintains his discipline if he plays against Rosenborg in the Champions League next Tuesday and Chelsea in the Premiership five days later.

Wenger said: "At Old Trafford, he got excited once or twice and of course we don't want him to respond to any provocation and be violent. However, it is important in the position in which he plays that he is strong physically and that he is not scared. He will have to find that fine line between being strong in the challenge and showing that you are not scared. I know how important it is to be brave in his position. I want him to keep this bravery without any violent excesses.

"We want him to focus completely on the game and to show what he is strong at."

Wenger accepts Van Persie may be frustrated at failing to break into the team. He said: "At 21 you are impatient but that should not make him more nervous. He knows he has the confidence of everyone here and what is important is the longer basis."

Wenger is set to keep faith with Robert Pires and Jose Antonio Reyes but Dennis Bergkamp is ruled out tomorrow with an Achilles tendon injury and Patrick Vieira will play his last game before sitting out a two-match ban.