Wenger tells Arsenal to forget Chelsea or face Basel blow
Momentum is a great thing in football and there is no doubt that Arsenal have it at the moment. We may have a had a bit of luck along the way, with the poor finishing of Cavani giving us the chance to draw at PSG and a soft penalty decision from the ref helping us to beat Southampton, but the fact of the matter is that the Gunners are going strong after a slow start to the new season.
The thing is with momentum though, it is a gradual process and is slow to build up and easy to lose. And Arsenal have been guilty in recent years of letting it slip away due to complacency, so Arsene Wenger has made sure to remind the players about this as we head into our second group game in the Champions League against Basel tonight.
The Frenchman pointed out on the Arsenal website that one of our best and most emphatic Premier League victories of last season was followed up by one of the worst European performances and results in recent years, so the players must make sure they do not take this game for granted just because we tonked Chelsea on Saturday.
Wenger said, “In life you can only show that you have learned. Last year we went to Leicester and won 5-2 and three days later we lost at home to Olympiakos 3-2.
“So we have to go from different competitions to different competitions and produce the same performance.
“It’s a big motivation for us because we know there are two group favourites at the start, PSG and Arsenal, but it’s not as clear as that and not as easy as it was maybe said. So we have to show that.
“I think the team is on the way up, so it’s important not to have a setback, an unexpected setback, and we must keep the quality very high in our performance.”
I think we will and I think this version of the Gunners is much less likely to fold but I am glad that Wenger is pointing it out and keeping everyone on their toes. So are we set for another convincing Arsenal win tonight?
