Arsene Wenger says his players overcame a mental block when they beat Chelsea in the Community Shield and he’s hoping for more of the same when Arsenal take to the Stamford Bridge turf on Saturday afternoon.
The boss – at the fourteenth time of asking – finally enjoyed victory against Jose Mourinho when the Gunners beat the Blues 1-0 at Wembley last month and he firmly believes his players can use the result as a building block for future success against the reigning champions.
“It can sometimes be a mental block for the players or the team when they do not win against certain teams,” he told his pre-game press conference on Friday. “On that front it was good [to win the Community Shield].
“What you expect from these kinds of games is [that they are] always high intensity, full commitment and of course you want to prepare for that and play with a full focus.
“For us it’s a big game. Let’s not forget it’s the start of the season and only five games have been played. We know our position at the end of the season will depend on how well we do in the big games.
“I do not think too much about where Chelsea stand in the league at the moment. I focus more on us performing well, with full power.”
A win for Arsenal would see them extend the gap on Chelsea to nine points and leave the West London side with a mountain to climb in their bid for successive titles.
“These are very difficult situations to assess,” he said when asked about the pressure that Mourinho might be feeling after his side’s poor start to the season.
“There are always periods where things don’t go as well. We are used to dealing with that. It is less enjoyable when it doesn’t go well of course but I think everybody who has stayed a long time in the game knows that.”
Saturday also marks Petr Cech’s first game back at Stamford Bridge since his summer departure after a decade at Chelsea. The Czech, who kept a clean sheet against his old teammates at Wembley, will return in goal having been rested for the defeat in Croatia on Tuesday.
On the subject of his summer signing’s reunion, Wenger added: “It is always difficult to go back to your club and play but I believe that he has fortunately handled that this season, [and] that is why I decided to play him as well in the Community Shield. It is the first step that is important and he has dealt very well with it.”
Cech to keep a clean sheet, Theo to score a hat trick, Terry sent off & Maureen crying at the end of the game will do just fine!
Cech to keep a clean sheet, Theo to score a hat trick,
Terry sent off & Maureen angrily hits an official and get a six match ban.. then am fully satisfied..
More than 6 matches for smacking an official!
12 matches for striking an official, and 20 more just for fucking being Moronho.
That fourth official: * i should stop them……i should really stop them..hmmh where’s popcon? this needs popcon*
I’m not saying I don’t want to win this game. Nothing would give me more satisfaction. But wouldn’t it be nice for us to play a sensible, professional game, not leaving ourselves so exposed on the counter attack, and come away with a well earned point. We never seem to do that. It’s always a comprehensive win or, in more cases than not, a bit of a pasting.
Nope, just want a win.
Part of me agrees, but I do feel we have the chance effectively end their season tomorrow. That’s almost as good as the three points!
One thing I know: Mourinho would not have wanted this game now. Chelsea is still in a bad shape (Maccabi aside). The results have shown that the Community Shield was not down to pre-season alone. The first team is creaking and that, very badly. A repeat of our gameplan will see us winning tomorrow.
Easy to think he’ll be delighted to have this now. They win and its the impetus for a revival. I’d imagine it’s easier to fire his team up for this one than if they were playing some lower league nobodys like sp*rs or something
Right on, Manny….
I’m so demoralized this season (maybe cause we had so much promise with last season’s strong finish and an amazing pre-season) I’m not sure if beating the chavs will cheer me up. I really need to see Arsenal positively hammer someone destroy a team to get rid of this frustration.
I don’t care how it happens or by how many. Just SO want a win – so that I can swan around with a smug grin on my face!
Hopefully Wenger will approach it as we did the City away match last year where we are tight and smart defensively and look to counter quickly. We certainly have the ability to win the game and should have confidence after big wins last year at City and Man U in the FA Cup.
I don’t really care how we do it. I just want us to win so, so badly. Seriously… FUCKING SMASH THOSE CUNTS.
Why is Wenger becoming afraid to respond to Maureen insults and put him to his place??? It’s so unwenger like.
Can’t see us winning this game. Draw is possible though.
Can we recall Diaby for part of the game just to give Terry another kick to the head? Would add that little bit extra to the win.
Time to back giroud up yes he has made some mistakes and isn’t efficient in front of goal but he is going through a very tough time time for us to show him all the support we can