There is a lot talked about the importance of confidence and belief in football. They are two things that have been somewhat lacking at Arsenal Football Club in recent years, although the team spirit and respect for Arsene Wenger have always been there.

More recently, however, we have seen the confidence come back into the Arsenal team, as we stopped having to sell our best players and started spending the sort of money that our rivals have been doing for years. You can look back to the away game against Bayern Munich, when Wenger and the players were under immense pressure before beating them and going on a great run to overhaul Spurs for the fourth Champions League place.

Then last season we went up another level and would arguably have secured the title if not for all the injury problems. And now the Gunners have taken the next step and ensured that this season’s chase for the BPL crown will not end in disappointment, according to the Arsenal stars talking about the signing of Alexis Sanchez yesterday.

Santi Cazorla was reported by the Daily Mail as saying, “It is a very important signing. He’s a world-class player – I’ve said it before. Having him at Arsenal night make a big difference just because of the player he is.

“If you bring in players of an outstanding level, it will lift the team to an outstanding level.

“The more quality players you have in your squad the more you can fight and we were unlucky with injuries last year.

“Having another fast player in the squad like Alexis will also give us extra opportunities going forward next year. Absolutely. Absolutely. If we have an even better squad than last year then why can’t we be champions this year?”

And those sentiments were echoed, in another Daily Mail report, by another of our Spaniards, Mikel Arteta, who as a boyhood fan of Barcelona has seen just what the Chilean star can do. The vice-captain believes that the extra pace up front will make Arsenal much more dangerous, clearly believing that Sanchez is going to make a big difference for us.

Arteta said, “I know Alexis very well because I am a Barcelona fan and he has been tremendous in the last 12 months.

“I spoke to him this morning. He said is very excited and wants to get involved as soon as possible and hopefully he can deliver.

“He is a player who is going to give us a boost and increase the scoring capacity of the team.

“Arsenal is a club that is very good on the break, very good at exploiting space. I think with Sanchez we will be much more difficult to handle.

“I think we have been missing that pace in behind. Sometimes we played with Cazorla, Giroud, Wilshere up front – and we had no pace.”

So the belief is there, Gooners, but can we really do it this season?

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