- Arsène Wenger has urged his players to get the fans behind them by finding their form against Bolton.
Arsenal's supporters have given the side tremendous backing during recent defeats at Manchester United and Blackburn and, despite a nervous first half against Shrewsbury Town in midweek, the Emirates crowd helped inspire their team to a hard-fought victory.
Now Wenger has urged his players to take responsibility for lifting the mood of the crowd.
"I always feel that the vibes have to come out from the team," he said. "If the vibes coming out from the team are right, the crowd will follow and support us.
"So let’s focus on us being right because the crowd feels that. We believe they have to trust us on that.
"We will bounce back and I think it starts from us being determined, from us being united, from us trusting each other and us playing the football we want to play. Let’s focus on that quality. We had 20 shots on goal at Blackburn, let’s continue to play our game."
- Arsène Wenger insists that Arsenal are doing everything they can to improve their defensive displays.
The Gunners have been criticised this season after conceding 12 times in two away fixtures but they did register clean sheets against Newcastle, Udinese and Swansea along the way.
Wenger says that his squad is working hard to address its weaknesses and he believes that every player must take responsibility when Arsenal do not have the ball.
“We work on it every day and practice,” the boss said. “I believe that we have been solid quite recently - in Dortmund but not at Blackburn. There is a lot to improve in our defensive consistencies.
“The modern game is a team sport more than ever because everybody has to defend completely. All the big teams do it. You do not get away with just seven or eight and the rest watching.
“If you don't do it as a team it doesn't work. On the day [at Blackburn] I believe we were a little unlucky and certainly a bit naive as well - we have to concede that. We have played five games, but we started our season basically two weeks ago.”
With four competitions to compete in this season, Wenger knows there is a gruelling year ahead and he pointed to the struggles of both Barcelona and Real Madrid in Wednesday night’s La Liga matches.
“There is a physical factor, you could see that as well. When I watched the Spanish games last night the teams who played in the Champions League did not look completely on full cylinders.
“[We can gain confidence] by focusing on the way we want to play football and the team spirit and attitude. That makes you feel stronger and overall I think there is no way I am going to put down the mental qualities of the squad. That will come out.”
- Arsenal skipper Robin van Persie insists morale needs to be maintained as there is still plenty to play for.
The Gunners had a welcome victory in midweek over Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup which eased some of the pressure on boss Arsene Wenger after following a dismal start to the campaign, including a 4-3 reverse at Blackburn last weekend.
Van Persie said: "It is important that we stay positive - that can be hard because everyone is frustrated and we realise that this is our worst start in the league for a while, but we have to stay together, be strong and make sure not to hide or become introverted.
"Games like Saturday's happen, but we must not go into our shell.
"We should be proud of who we are and aware that we are only five games in with so much still to play for."
The Dutch striker accepts there has to be an improved collective effort.
"The facts are we went in front twice (against Blackburn) and didn't defend well enough thereafter," he said.
"It is strange because in earlier games, Udinese being a classic example, we had managed to do it - fighting for a good result and keeping it. Now we have to show people we can do it week in, week out.
"Yes, we were a bit unlucky at Ewood Park, but I am someone who believes you bring luck to yourselves - and scoring two own goals is not down to bad luck.
"We don't blame individuals, but we have to look a bit more closely at things."
- Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood is in the dark over claims from QPR skipper Joey Barton that he held talks with the Gunners before leaving Newcastle United.
The 29-year-old said he might have joined Arsenal had he not been involved in Gervinho's red card on the opening day of the season while playing for his former club, Newcastle.
He clashed with the Gunners' new signing at St James' Park, going to ground after a fracas which saw the Ivorian sent off.
Barton believes that incident was pivotal in Wenger deciding against bringing him to Emirates Stadium.
However, Arsenal chief Hill-Wood says he had no knowledge of the manager trying to sign the tempestuous midfielder.
He said: "It's not something the board heard about and if it was a serious proposition I certainly would have expected us to."
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a dream move to Arsenal over the summer, but admits he owes everything to his first club Southampton after they handed him his break in football.
The winger was just seven when his association with the Saints began and went on to break into the first team and make his professional debut aged 16.
"I owe them massively - I'd been at Southampton since I was seven," the 18 year old said.
"They put so much hard work into me and the fans down there welcomed me into the first team so warmly.
"I couldn't have asked for more, so I've got a lot of time for them and I hope to be able to play there again one day and show my appreciation. I'll always have a place in my heart for them."
- Arsenal are hoping to have Jack Wilshere back ahead of schedule.
The England midfielder has not played this term after suffering an ankle injury during pre-season.
It was feared the 19-year-old would be missing until November but Wilshere could make his comeback for the Gunners' Champions League clash at Marseille on October 19.
Wilshere looked on from the stands as Arsenal came from behind to beat League Two side Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup last night.
And he is reported to have told supporters that he expects to be back in action in four weeks' time.
- Arsenal have signed the son of the man who spearheaded part one of the campaign to bring Cesc Fabregas back to Barcelona.
Guim Laporta, son of ex-Barca president Joan, is now playing for Arsenal’s youth team after moving from Barcelona’s Infantil A side.
Laporta Senior was the man who lodged the Catalan giants’ first bids for Cesc back in the summer of 2010. And he was still stirring things up earlier this year.
He was quoted as saying: “The English come here to go ‘fishing’. They came to fish for Gerard Pique and they came to fish for Cesc Fabregas. It is an issue of justice that we (Barca) now want to recover them.
“I would have liked it if Cesc came to Barca in the way that Pique came. He abandoned Manchester United, making it clear he was going to Barca. They were players who were formed here.”
Alas, Guim’s move to the Gunners was nothing to do with English ‘fishing’. His mum has moved to London and the youngster has decided to switch clubs to stay with her.
The 14-year-old is younger than Fabregas was when he moved to England. Arsenal will be hoping to make another nice return on another hotly-tipped youngster.
Arsenal are once again showing an interest in PSV-Eindhoven striker Ola Toivonen, who has previously been linked with a move to the Emirates on a number of occasions.
The Sweden international striker has previously been linked with both Arsenal and Liverpool, but it is the Gunners that have now emerged as the favourites to land the 25-year-old.
Toivonen, who has 13 appearances for Sweden, signed for the Dutch side in 2009 for around €4million and has gone on to impress a number of European sides during his stint in the Eredivisie.
It is believed that Arsenal were interested in signing the player during the summer, but PSV decided to hang on to the striker who has scored three goals in his last four internationals.
Toivonen has scored 35 goals in 76 league appearances for PSV and according to Talksport is a legitimate target for the Gunners.
Arsenal have plenty of money to spend during the January transfer window after the sales of both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, while chairman Ivan Gazidis has made it clear that money will be spent in January.
The Gunners have relied heavily on Robin van Persie in recent seasons and are desperate to give some help to the Dutch striker. Maraoune Chamakh has struggled to find his feet in the Premier League while Gervinho is viewed more as a support striker.
PSV want at least £12million for the talented striker, which Arsenal would have no problem in matching.
No comments:
Post a Comment