The last time Arsenal played Southampton, just a few weeks ago, we were destroyed 4-0 in our worst result in the whole of last year. That came towards the end of the busy Xmas schedule and Arsene Wenger believes that his Gunners team were ‘not fresh’ mentally after a gruelling run of five wins in a row culminating in a victory over Manchester City.
Talking about the game on Boxing Day, Wenger was clear on his feelings after that match. “Of course, you are upset, but I felt on the day we did not have the mental energy,” Le Prof said. “We put a lot in. It’s Christmas, we always go to Southampton at the Christmas period. It was a little bit Christmas, it was a little bit the fact that after [beating] Man City we felt that we had done it, and we got caught by a team that was full of desire.”
“We were beaten physically. I felt, on the day, we did not have the resources. Sometimes, it is important to give a breather, just to recharge, more mentally than physically. If you play game after game, sometimes, you are just not fresh enough mentally.”
I’m not sure Wenger is right myself as it had been a full seven days since the win over City, so they should have been up for it, and then two days later we beat Bournemouth, when we should have been tired!
Okay this time the team that faces Southampton tonight will have had ten days rest and will have no excuses at all for another setback. We need to start putting pressure on Leicester from now on….
Onwards and Upwards!