After the Magnificent Seven against Slavia Prague, it is Arsenal’s mental fortitude rather than their eye for goals that will be tested in the Premier League.
A visit to Liverpool on Sunday is followed by a home game against champions Manchester United on November 3 and if Arsenal take four or more points, talk of a 14th league title will be hard to avoid in north London.
Twelve wins on the trot is never to be sniffed at and Arsene Wenger’s skilful young side have played through, round and over opponents at exceptional pace this season to score 39 goals in all competitions and concede just six.
But they have yet to meet one of English soccer’s traditional powers and Liverpool, pragmatic rather than pretty, will show whether the new Arsenal have the stuff of which champions are made.
If you had earned a pound for every time Arsene Wenger had talked about Arsenal’s mental strength over the past 2-3 years, you might be able to afford one of the flash new flats at the Emirates Stadium.
For much of that period the Frenchman seemed to be talking more in hope than expectation. This season, the obvious pleasure the team gets from gutting the opposition has been matched by their self-belief and physical toughness.
No one picks on midfield fulcrum Cesc Fabregas any more and, just like the Liverpool side in the 1980s and Manchester United in the 1990s, the Gunners have developed the knack of winning games with late goals.
Fulham (2-1 after being 1-0 down until the 83rd minute), Manchester City (1-0 with a goal in the 80th), Tottenham 3-1 (goals in the 81st and 90th minutes), Newcastle 2-0 (goals in the 83rd and 89th minutes) and Sunderland 3-2 (a winner in the 81st minute) were all victories that show Arsenal are developing the killer instinct.
The desire to score the perfect goal, personified by Thierry Henry before his close season departure, is still evident but might have been satisfied in the second half against Prague.
“We will not always have five or six chances in the big games for one goal. In the big games you need ‘one chance, one goal’ or ‘two chances, one goal’,” Wenger said this week.
Liverpool will do extremely well to limit this Arsenal side to just two chances.
PHOTO: Cesc Fabregas celebrates after scoring against Slavia Prague during Arsenal’s Champions League Group H match at the Emirates Stadium, October 23, 2007. REUTERS/Toby Melville
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5 comments so far
so long as the man in black does not succomb to the ‘Arsenal is foreign’ & ‘Gerrrard is GOD sent FA official’ mentality, Re-his (Gerrards)infamous role in last weeks merseyside derby. Then Arsenal should be fine. Same applies to the MAN U -Arsenal Game, No player should be given preferential treatment ,or allowed to stealthly control the match Re: messrs ROONEY.
- Posted by sam okoroI’ll be pretty surprised if Gerrard plays the full 90 minutes against Arsenal. In fact, might Benitez be brave enough to drop him? Alonso and Mascherano could be the ideal midfield pairing for this one.
- Posted by Kevthis game has probably come at the right time for Liverpool as well. A win, and a good performance, would be just the confidence boost they need. Not that it’s very likely or anything, but just in case…
- Posted by London[...] Robert Woodward added an interesting post on Arsenal facing first real test.Here’s a small excerpt:But they have yet to meet one of English soccer’s traditional powers and Liverpool, pragmatic rather than pretty, will show whether the new Arsenal have the stuff of which champions are made. If you had earned a pound for every time … [...]
- Posted by www.soccersecrets.info » Arsenal facing first real testLiverpool will hopefully put an end to this Arsenal run that has become painful to watch and then we can knock the stuffing out of them at the Emirates on November 3.
- Posted by Red Devil