His side may be sitting sixth in the Premier League standings, are spending a season in the Europa League and appear to have a nasty habit of conceding the first goal at the moment, but Arsene Wenger insists his current squad are more united and focused than any he’s coached.
Hyperbole? Almost certainly. A tactic to maintain motivation? Possibly. The truth? A smidgen, perhaps…although it would be surprising given so many of the squad have unresolved contract situations hanging over them.
Ahead of Arsenal’s home showdown with Red Star Belgrade, the boss sang the praises of his first team members.
“I personally believe my biggest pleasant experience is how focused the whole squad is in every single game,” he said.
“That is the first time in my life that I see that, how united and focused the entire squad is.
“I am really honest when I say that. You cannot say that any player, in any competition, has gone a little bit easy, the focus of the team has always been exceptional.
“The key to that is the fact that there is a good understanding in the squad,” he added.
“They all know each other well and play together for quite a while. They have had positive and negative experiences and they always responded well and I think there is respect within the squad that is an important ingredient.”
Arsenal can seal qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a draw tomorrow evening. With one eye on Sunday’s trip to Manchester it’s pretty much nailed on that there will be wholesale changes from the team that beat Swansea.
“I’m not tempted [to play Alexis, Ozil and Alex Lacazette] because I have another trio who will play on Thursday night, like Walcott, Wilshere and Giroud. It’s very difficult to make a [change].
“They all want competition, they all deserve competition because of their quality. If you look at the number of minutes played by all of these players since the start of the season, many of them are in very competitive shape and that should be an advantage of us for the rest of the season.”
Sad he feels the need to say shit like this
Real focused at Liverpool Watford and stoke arsene
So Aw musnt show any positivity?
okay mr arsenal social media dept. Positivity by all means but that’s just bullshit
He’s obviously talking complete bollocks but personally, I love the fella.
Gonna miss him when he finally goes.
Simple rule really these days : listen to Arsene when talking about football in general, or even current affairs. Still intelligent, measured, sensible. Don’t listen to Arsene talking about Arsenal. Mostly total bollocks. It’s like a different man completely.
Let’s see it on Sunday.
Please play Iwobi further forward and Jack as a CM
I am an indian gooner and shitham winning against real madrid has left a nagging feeling in my mind which i am not able to shake off.
Tottenham overachievers will go back where they belong. Hate that they are being considered a big team.
We’re in 5th not 6th. I know the seasons not going great but no need to put the team on a par with Liverpool ?
Nothing he says is really meant for the fans, it’s all spin for the players to pick up on, or not as the case maybe.
Does he believe half of what he says?
Not sure he does, but it does get tedious.
The unity and focus would be put to test this coming Sunday then I’ll decide whether the group is truly United and focused or just a bluff.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats one of the reasons we are mediocre.
Because we praise our players for competing for Europa League and at Europa League.
So far away for our capabilities!
Yes Aw must make a comment rubbishing the players who have won13 consecutive matches at the Emirates and 10 of the last 12 matches with one defeat.
We won the Emirates Premier League for Gazidis’ Hall of Weird Stats! Yeh!
“That is the first time in my life that I see that, how united and focused the entire squad is”. Nope Arsene. You forgot the Invincibles
what he should says is…
” am really honest when I say that. You cannot say that any player, in any competition, has gone a little bit easy…. SINCE CHAMBERLAIN LEFT…. the focus of the team has always been exceptional”
I must admit this current team that has managed one decent performance so far this season looks a lot more focused than the invincibles. Or either of the double teams, or the 1999 team that was better than the united team that won the treble that year. I first noticed it during the second half of the Watford game.
5th ffs! Bad News Hound!