Arsène Wenger believes his Arsenal squad is more focused and committed than some of his trophy-winning groups of years gone by as he insisted that he and they would plot a course away from the storm that has engulfed the club.

Arsenal's poorest start to a Premier League season in Wenger's 16 years was compounded by Tuesday's Capital One Cup defeat at the League Two club Bradford City, when the attitude of several senior players, notably Gervinho and Lukas Podolski, was called into question.

It was the first time that a Wenger team had lost to opposition from English football's fourth tier and they go to Reading on Monday night in the Premier League in need of a tonic. The manager feels frustrated, angry and victimised, yet he also mustered trademark defiance in his call for calm and perspective.

"I have had groups who had fantastic results who were less serious than these players, believe me," he said. "Players who were less focused than this team. Of course, these players are hurting. You think they don't care and they go home [after Bradford] and think they had a fantastic game? They do care.

"The difference is that we have created a new team. Some players have come in, some players have come back from injuries and we have to show until the end of the season the quality that I think we have. We have not kicked on, that's true, but we have rebuilt a team this year. We'll see where we finish." Wenger railed when his questionable signings were brought up, some of which had arrived at great cost. The names of Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh, Sébastien Squillaci, Park Chu-young and André Santos were mentioned, along with the fact that Arsenal have the league's fourth-highest wage bill.

"Gervinho cost £8m [not the widely quoted £10.5m] … Chamakh was free, Squillaci nearly free," Wenger said. "You cannot say we have a squad of no quality. You also accuse us of not paying the wages that [top] players want and then, on the other hand, you accuse us of giving them the money they want."

Wenger betrayed his exasperation when the subject turned to the statement signing that some feel Arsenal need to make in January. "We will buy Lionel Messi and we will surprise you," he said, before adopting a more serious tone. "Look, I've always said the same which is that we want to produce the money from our own resources."

There is a heroism about Wenger's willingness to take the flak on his shoulders, in order to protect his players while he said that he had not talked to the club's majority shareholder, Stan Kroenke, this week and nor did he want him to speak up in public to bear any part of the criticism. "I am here for that," Wenger added, with a smile.

He said his players were "top professionals," who would use the adversity to show their strength and he maintained that the Capital One Cup would hardly define the club's season.

As for whether he is the right man to take the club forward, he coined a new Wengerism. "Let's not become parrotic," he said. "If you listen to the criticism, it's as if we are in the Championship. It's overboard. You do not need to make definite judgments yet. I have been through difficult periods and if I wasn't determined, I wouldn't be sat in front of you. You say 16 years can be a handicap but it can be an advantage because you have experience. You know how to turn it around."