Arsenal win was massive for confidence and momentum says Wenger

So at the weekend, Arsenal continued their fantastic run in the Premier League campaign with another win, this time over fellow challengers Liverpool. The Gunners opened up a 5 point lead ahead of both Chelsea and Liverpool who sit in 2nd and 3rd place respectively divided only by goal difference.

The result was obviously important because it meant that we continued our stride in challenging for the Premier League title this season; however it was also very important that we won on Saturday because it brought the club’s confidence and momentum back up to a standard that felt like champions.

Club Captain Thomas Vermaelen stated before the game that the two losses against both Chelsea and Dortmund didn’t cause any loss of confidence amongst the Arsenal dressing room, and they still believed they could be challengers. However I slightly doubt that because I know for a fact that many fans of Arsenal football club felt very differently.

The two losses seemed to signify the slide that many people expected to come from Arsenal at some stage this season. It looked as if the club was back to its usual ways of struggling against the big teams, and although admittedly that is what has happened, the response against Liverpool was absolutely fantastic and it goes to show that the team still has every single bit of confidence as before.

Wenger said after the Liverpool game: “The Chelsea game was an important game but not of the importance of today’s game. But still, it was a disappointment and it was important to respond today, to convince people that we can win these big games.

“To win it in a convincing way is even more important. I am always confident, but of course there is a long way to go. Today was an important win for the team, for the club, and overall nobody would dispute that we deserved to win this game. It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don’t change my mind, because had we not won people would say ‘yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games’.

“It is done, in a convincing way. We had a good solidarity, a good focus, and I believe we have plenty of other big games coming up and this will help us deal well with them.

“You could see today that the level is high. We have good solidarity in the group and a good technical level as well. You could see that today. We live in a world where we have to be questioned, where you are questioned. The only response we can give is on the football pitch, I said that many times. That is part of our job.”

Belief and confidence in yourself is always a big factor in being a successful individual, in my opinion. So as a team, having confidence in not only yourself, but those other members around you as well is absolutely vital in being a championship winning side. And I think Arsenal have lacked confidence in the past, so much so that it’s been one of many downfall factors about why it has been so long since we not only obtained glory but even challenged for a trophy.

This week we face the last two crunch games for a little while, with Arsenal playing both Dortmund and Manchester United before the week is up. Dortmund is always going to be a tough test especially away from home, however it’s very important we get Back on track in the Champions League, whilst a win Manchester United will show how serious we are about winning the 2013/14 Premier League trophy!