Arsenal seem to have been in invincible form since the disappointment of the defeat to Monaco, and they produced yet another sublime performance today against West Ham. Arsene Wenger was obviously very pleased with the result to keep our momentum going ahead of Tuesday’s showdown in Monaco.
Le Boss said after the game: “It’s a good performance. We controlled the game in the first half, created many chances but couldn’t score. In the second half I felt we were a bit short of energy coming out of the dressing room for a while and West Ham were on top for that period. After, in the final part of the game, we always looked dangerous and capable of scoring goals. We had to patient, organised and steady. Overall we scored great collective goals like we love to play.”
Even though we looked to be in control, it took until the stroke of half-time for us to make the breakthrough, and Wenger was ecstatic with the move that led to our opener. “It was a fantastic goal because it’s a consequence of a fantastic combination just before and after. On top of that the finishing was great. It’s the kind of goal we love to score. On top of that Giroud had a great finish.”
With Man City dropping points the Gunners are now breathing down their necks for second place, and this could end up being a great weekend for us in the race to secure next season’s Champions League place, but Wenger thinks it is unlikely we could catch Chelsea. “Not at the moment but we just have to keep going. We’ve won eight of the last nine and we are stronger today than we were at the start of the season. We dropped off in this league because we won one of six at the start of the season. Today we are a different team. We suffered a lot from the post-World Cup fixtures. Players came back and they weren’t ready to play.”
Now we have to rest and prepare for the crucial game on Tuesday. It may be unlikely that we go through, but Wenger refuses to throw in the towel just yet. “If you have no belief, you have no chance.” he concluded. “We have to believe that we can do it and give everything. This time Monaco are favourites so we have to go there, give absolutely everything and come out of the game with that feeling.”
Onwards and upwards!