Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has urged his players to get their ailing domestic campaign back on track by recapturing the spirit of their famous invincible side of the 2003-04 season.
On Wednesday, Arsenal played out a 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium and although they finally managed to end their point drought after three consecutive defeats, it wasn’t a source of joy for the Gunners as they now find themselves at seventh position on the league table, behind the likes of Newcastle United and Liverpool.
But while Arsenal have been surpassed by two more team, the gap between them and fourth-placed Chelsea is of only five points, which means that they are still very much in contention for the final Champions League spot.
The Gunners are now scheduled to play relegation battlers Blackburn Rovers at Emirates Stadium tomorrow afternoon and a win in their own backyard could elevate them back to fifth position, even if only temporarily, as both Liverpool and Newcastle don’t play their respective league games until Sunday and Monday respectively.
Wenger’s men have already tasted eight league defeats this season and the Frenchman has confessed that they cannot afford to make any more mistakes now.
“Ideally you want to be unbeaten. Is it possible? I think to prove that it is possible is just to win on Saturday. For the rest, I believe that we have played some great football this season and we have to continue to improve the way we play and focus on that. Football has to be a happy moment that you want to share with people who come to the game. We always try to behave like that,” Wenger said.
Some Arsenal fans, who are disappointed at Wenger’s handling of the club, have said that they will place black bin liners on top of any vacant seat on Saturday, in order to prove that matchday attendance has started to fall down due to the poor results of their beloved club.
As the graph of their performances has gone south, the amount of criticism being hurled at Wenger has increased significantly. But the 62-year old coach is adamant that they can still achieve their targets if his troops distance themselves from all the negativity and give their undivided attention to the club’s main cause of winning on the footballing field.
Steven Kean, the manager of their next opponents Blackburn, has also been criticised by the fans of his own club this season, and Wenger believes that football supporters in general have developed a taste for drama.
“It is not easy anywhere nowadays, but with the media and the opinions of everybody we live in a constant drama. But it is not like that. Football is a happy moment where people come together to watch the team they love.”
“We have to stop to make a drama of everything but there are much more dreadful things in life than that. We have to keep focused on the fact that we have a fantastic opportunity to play football and we want to focus on that with happy minds, not always to be in a drama.”
“I am here to make all of the fans happy and when I do not manage to do it I am, of course, not happy. What is most important is that we have our fans happy at the end of the season. I know that it is always a depressed job to judge, the immediate situation, but we have a longer target – to go until May with a determined attitude with belief. That is what we want to achieve.”
“Overall I feel this team is strong mentally with a good spirit and attitude. We are ready for a fight and that is the most important thing.”
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
