Arsene Wenger has hailed the way his injury-hit squad delivered three wins in eight days to secure a return to the top of the Premier League and a place in Monday’s Champions League draw.
The Gunners, spearheaded by the in-form Olivier Giroud, scored eight goals and conceded only once as they overcame Sunderland, Olympiacos and Aston Villa to boost confidence ahead of the busy Christmas schedule.
Speaking after the 2-0 victory at Villa Park, the boss told Arsenal Player: “I’m very proud and happy of the spirit we show. That’s what people want to see. There’s a strength and togetherness coming out of the team that people feel and that’s the biggest satisfaction. It’s the best basis to make results.
“It was a convincing performance overall. In the first half we dominated the situation very well and got two goals. In the second half it was a bit more difficult physically because we gave a lot on Wednesday night and you could see that the legs were a bit tired.
“But overall we have shown maturity, didn’t give a goal away and came home with what I believe was a convincing win. It’s a great week – Sunderland, Olympiacos and today. We’ve scored eight goals and I think it was a fantastic week. I would like to give credit to the team for their mental approach to the games. It’s absolutely fantastic.”
In his post-game press conference, the boss admitted he had been concerned about the effects of fatigue after a late return from Greece in midweek.
“I was a bit anxious today as we had given a lot on Wednesday and came back very, very late on Thursday morning. I know that Villa was fighting to survive and it was maybe a set of important points to win against a team low on confidence.
“[At] 2-0 at half-time, I knew the second half would be more difficult and then they did well and there were some opportunities for Aston Villa, but we didn’t manage to score the third goal. Overall, it was a controlled performance and a great week for us. Don’t worry, I have already had a few bad weeks so it balances itself out a little bit.”
We have done amazingly well after the recent spate of injuries.
I hope we have more players returning than going out injured in the next month,so injuries don’t derail our title charge.
Playing well, players coming back, strong squad.
If we can beat City we are in a great position, we aren’t going to cave in like we did two seasons ago in the second half of the season (and looks like we can concentrate on the league after the CL draw).
Here’s hoping for the PL.
COYG! The treble is still on! (Wishful thinking, but hey let me get carried away!)
Just need to keep pumping out these team performances, even if we don’t hit top gear, keep the points rolling in!
Always happy to see Professor Wenger happy! 😀
I hope ox back in form, he wasted chances in villa park.
May Arsenal do a United to City!
Less possession, more counter attacks. That’s how we beat City. And with Ramsey playing in the middle, Giroud will get more chances to score.
Looks like Alexis will be ready for Man Shitty….good thing he got 3 weeks of “rest” before the busy holiday schedule