When Arsenal finally overcame Roma in a penalty shoot-out on Wednesday, manager Arsene Wenger was mocked in some corners for his assertion that the result could increase the players belief and their confidence.
The next game against Blackburn would surely be a test of Wenger’s convictions. Sam “toad-face” Allardyce had already marked out his stall by saying they would come out to frustrate Arsenal. They did try with lots of fouling, kicking, and diving but the result wasn’t what they expected.
Arshavin opens his account for Arsenal in style... Arshavin style
So a 4-0 drubbing of Blackburn put Arsenal in 4th place ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference, surely another injection of confidence for the gunners. There is still a battle to be fought, 9 games left and the goal should be to win every one of those games. We cannot afford to depend on Villa losing any more, we have got to make this position stick.
This week we have 9 more games to seal a champions league spot for next season, although we’ve tried not to make it a race for champions league football this is what our season boils down to. Arsene knows we cannot afford to let up now, saying
We know that every game is a challenge. Before we start to dream we play every three days and we can rotate a bit at the moment. We have a challenge in every single game from now until the end of the season and we cannot drop off one or two per cent in our performances. I feel in the dressing room that the team are really up for it.
Our role is to get behind the team and lend our support, we all know how much a difference confidence can make to our players, so eroding their confidence is self defeating, we want to see a great performance so the best thing we can do is to create an atmosphere that is conducive to a great performance. As a former performer the worst thing was to perform in front of an audience that is ready to pounce on the slightest hint of imperfection.
The next fixture is an FA cup quarter final against Hull tomorrow night, a game we should win. I know we’ve lost to Hull at the Emirates this season but at this stage I don’t think we should have trouble dealing with Hull.
Wenger will employ a rotation to keep the players fresh, with players like Vela, Gibbs, Van Persie and Gallas will come back into the side. Denilson might also be rested as he has played the most games this season so far something I am sure that was never the plan for the Brazilian this season.
All in all after the weekend results Arsenal fans finally can have some hope in a favourable end to what has so far been a testing season for all.
