Arsene Wenger has called on his players to remain absolutely focused on heading into the Christmas period.
Having mounted an impressive 14-game unbeaten streak, the Gunners now sit second in the Premier League table. With six games coming up in the next 30 days the challenge is to continue their domestic consistency.
“When you look at the teams around us you can see that the margin of difference has shrunk a lot,” Wenger told press ahead of his side’s trip to Everton on Tuesday.
“The way you respond in every single game is absolutely vital. It’s a very important period where everybody has to be absolutely focused on our results and the way we want to play.”
He added: “We go tomorrow to Everton, let’s focus on Everton and try to win the game. That’s all you can do in football, win your next game. What is for sure, is that at the moment every game is like a cup final for everybody.
“We’ve just come out of a game where we were 1-0 down and for the sixth time this season we’ve come back after being down, so let’s continue to focus on that, on our resilience and our motivation. After that we’ll see how far we can go.”
Over the weekend, The Telegraph reported that Arsenal had been using the services of a forensic psychiatrist, Dr Ceri Evans, who’d previously worked with the All Black rugby team. Asked whether the move had been a catalyst for the upturn in results over the last few months, the boss made clear that he’d rather praise the quality of his players.
“It’s down to the quality of the players; it’s as simple as that,” said Wenger.
“It’s nothing to do with psychology, it’s down to the way our players play on the football pitch. We have not to go overboard with that. It’s nothing to do with that.
“The strong mentality of the players is first down to the fact that we have more maturity in the squad,” he continued.
“We played for many years with a very young squad, they were a bit more vulnerable. As well it’s down to the recent history of the team, we have not lost for a long time and that creates strength, belief and trust in the squad.
“That is of course, much more linked with that [being mentally strong].”
Whether it’s horse placenta or Dr. Ceri Evans or anything else legal, as long as we end the season with the title, we will all be happy.
Good points. Having winners and players mostly aged from 24 to 31, so in their prime, has to help.
COYR
A win tomorrow really puts us in a good position, you’d take a point away to City and see it as a good result overall – but the way they are defending we are primed to hit them on the break..Xhaka launching from deep for Theo, Ox and Alexis seems a perfect way to kill them.
Keen to see if we go with strongest 11 tomorrow, perhaps Lucas gets the nod tomorrow over Theo, in doing so keeping Theo fresh for Sunday. Hopefully we can give Alexis the final 20 or 30 mins off tomorrow!
If it goes anything like the preseason game we will cut them to bits.
No Aguero to worry about either.
I agree! Not to get carried away by the media hype . The media are going to start now to build them up just to crash and burn. That maturity should not only be focused at the players but fans too! Injuries and form are important but team spirit can’t be under rated. COYG!!!
Everton won’t go down without a fight, tomorrow is a great opportunity to show that this season is different.
We must not be complacent because neither game will be easy but we can beat BOTH Everton and City. The media gave us no chance this season of finishing in top 4 (or above the great imitators the Spurds)…just like they have been want to do every season previous since 2010. The talk was a 3 horse race not involving us. City were their favorites…I expect now COnte which we beat 3 nil will be. Ignoring of course the fact that whilst he was perhaps developing his 3 man backline, we were also having our own teething issues against Liverpool… Read more »
If Bellerin could only play one of the next two games, I’d play Gabriel in the centre against Everton to deal with long balls to Lukaku and then play Holding against city.
Yeah, it’s a tricky one with Hector. I’d play him tonight and see how he comes out of the game before deciding for Shitty.
Oh, and i’d ask the lads to stop letting in the 1st goal 🙂
6 times is enough.
Well all I hope for is taking all three points tonight and have tonight’s game a clean sheet….I don’t want a normal game of letting the first goal in either, I fancy the way our team is playing at the moment, no individualism in the way we play, cohesion is all that matters….all the best today COYG!!!