Arsene Wenger... manager delighted with mental progress
Wenger - Our mental strength has surprised me
- Bould and Banfield join first-team staff
- 'I know I have some big boots to fill’
- International Watch: Ryo makes Japan debut
- Pictures of the Season 2011/12 - Part Three
- Vermaelen - I enjoy the responsibility here
- Top 20 Most Liked
By Richard Clarke
Arsenal’s mental strength this season has surprised even Arsène Wenger.
The manager and his young side were in the firing line earlier in the campaign after a number of defeats left their title hopes looking remote and did nothing to instil confidence for the other competitions.
However the team decided to dig in. Sometimes it was hardly the pretty, pretty football for which they are famous but, since Christmas, Wenger’s side have put together a run of two losses in 28 games in the Champions League, FA Cup and Premier League. Even those defeats - at Porto and Roma – mattered little in the wider context.
That sequence has all-but assured a top-four spot and over the next few days Arsenal can progress to the Champions League Semi-Final for only the second time in their history and the FA Cup Final for the first time in four years.
“Their mental strength this season was a positive surprise for me,” admitted Wenger ahead of the game with Villarreal on Wednesday.
“You can have children who are talented very early in their lives but you don’t know how they will respond with difficulties. But these young players they have shown they are mentally strong.
“When we lost five [Premier League] games in the first 14 you could not predict that we would not lose at all in the next 18. But we have improved quite quickly now it is the period of the season where we have to show that we are mature enough to deal with the type of challenges left in front of us.”
[Wednesday, April 15, 2009]
More Arsenal News
-
Thu, May 24, 2012
'I know I have some big boots to fill’ -
Thu, May 24, 2012
‘Steve and I share same coaching philosophy’ -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Banfield - New role is a dream come true -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Bould and Banfield join first-team staff -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Bould - This shows strength of youth set-up -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Pictures of the Season 2011/12 - Part Four -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Kitchee FC on the verge of historic treble -
Thu, May 24, 2012
Season Review 2011/12 - FA Cup -
Wed, May 23, 2012
'Premier League is as good as it's ever been' -
Wed, May 23, 2012
International Watch: Ryo makes Japan debut
