If confidence, form and belief stood for much in football, then Arsenal would be celebrating a famous win over our London rivals Chelsea at about ten to six tomorrow evening. After eight Premier League wins in a row and just three defeats and one draw in the last 25 games, it is hardly surprising that the confidence is flowing in the Arsenal dressing room.
The strong belief is highlighted by the words of our France international striker Olivier Giroud on Sky Sports, whose own form and record of 10 goals from the last 12 games are indicative of the way the Gunners have been flying.
The powerful and potent centre forward knows that beating Chelsea will not be easy but he firmly believes that Arsenal can do it. And just like his manager, Giroud is trying not to think about the recent history between the two clubs, which has yet to see him be on the winning side against the Blues.
The striker also spoke about the confrontation between Wenger and Mourinho at Stamford Bridge earlier this season and he clearly feels that the Portuguese must have been at fault to have provoked the usually cool, calm and collected Frenchman. But he also feels that the passion on show from Le Prof proved how much he wants Arsenal to win.
He said, “He is very calm most of the time. He’s got good self-control and we were a bit surprised by his reaction.
“But it’s a human reaction and I’m well placed to speak about that because I’m an emotional player. I don’t keep my feelings for me and that’s why sometimes it happens.
“Honestly, from my point of view I was more proud of that. It shows his character and if he has done that, maybe it was justified.
“We’ve played fantastic football over the last few months and we’ve won our last eight games in the Premier League.
“We want to carry on. I think second will be a good position even if we have a tiny hope to finish first. It’s been a few years since we’ve finished in the top three so it will be a great achievement if we can reach this target.
“I think it’s going to be really hard but we really want to win this game.
“For me, I have never won against Chelsea. It could be my first victory. We want to show our fans what a good run we are on and we want to carry on playing our football with our qualities.
“I know we can win this game but Chelsea are really solid at the back. They have not conceded a lot of goals and they are efficient up front. I have not scored against them so it’s a good challenge for me, for the team and for the boss.
“It will be a very big game for us and our fans. Hopefully it will be a great moment.”
What do you expect from this big game Gooners? More fireworks on and off the pitch? An Arsenal win or more frustration against the pumped up paltroon and his team?