Dagens Arsenal – 15 maj 2013
Ett gäng skator har huvudrollen i pjäsen om Arsenals framtid. St James Park är platsen för föreställningen. Dör hjälten i sista akten, eller får vi ett lyckligt slut? 4 dagar kvar.
LATEST NEWS
THE MANAGER TALK
Post Wigan: ”They all stepped up and produced...”
» Arsene Wenger om; Ett livsviktigt resultat... ”We had a quick start and a strong start for the first 20 minutes. We were really dominating and after that we became a bit conservative and pushed forward less and allowed Wigan back in the game. We were unfortunate to go to 1-1 because I think it was a free kick for us. It was a big blow for our team and you could see that when we came out in the second half - we were not as fluent or as confident as we wanted to be. Wojceich made a great save at 1-1. At that stage we were on the brink of conceding a goal.”
Walcotts mål... ”When we scored the second one it was a massive blow for Wigan and they never recovered from that. It then became a comfortable win with goals three and four. It was a tight game.”
Wigans nedflyttning... ”It is sad that they go down because they are a good team, they play good football and are an intelligent team with good players. If they stay together they will certainly come up again.”
Nyckelspelarnas framträdande roll... ”Yes, they produced and they scored the goals. Walcott had a great night. From the start he was always a guy who was dangerous. But they [all] stepped up and produced a quality game.”
Att hålla modet uppe... ”We became a bit edgy and nervous at the start of the second half. But in these types of games you need to keep your nerve and continue to play like there is nothing at stake basically. It took us some time to recover from the [Wigan] goal.”
Att spela på bortaplan i sista omgången... ”I don't know [if that could be an advantage]. In every single game until the end, for a long time now, we are in a position where we absolutely want the three points. Sometimes when you want it absolutely it takes some creativity away from your team. You could see as soon as it because 3-1 we were more dangerous and played with more freedom. it is part of being a top-level player, to deal with that.”
Matchen mot Newcastle... ”It is all open, but it depends on our result. Even third place is not out of sight of we win the game. I am confident because we have experience, we play for a long time under massive pressure and we have always found the solutions with the problems that we have faced.”
Mikel Arteta... ”He is not alright, he pulled his calf so that could be a problem for Sunday. We don't know, we have to wait for 24 hours. He is a massive doubt for Sunday. He is very important, that is why I don't rule him out at the moment. Maybe we will have to push Wilshere in [if he doesn't make it]. I don't know.”
Lagets soliditet... ”If you look at the number of points we made compared with Manchester United, I think we have the same since January 1. But it took us some time to get going, but I believe mainly [it is down to the fact] we didn't win the big games, especially at home. That is why it took us a long time to find a level of confidence and to balance the team as well because we had many new players.”
Avslutningen... ”At the moment, we prepare for next season as well because the way that you play and finish determines the ability to start well next season. That is a big part, but bigger is to finish well and that is at Newcastle on Sunday.”
Pre Newcastle: ”The target is 73 points”
Arsenal kämpade sig tillbaka upp på fjärdeplatsen igen efter en förlösande 4–1-seger mot Wigan igår kväll. Efter ett oavgjort resultat i paus steg de rödvita ut och avgjorde tillställningen genom tre mål inom loppet av åtta minuter. Arsene Wenger erkänner att det sannerligen kommer förekomma lite nerver inför söndagen. Men han menar också att han är övertygad om att Arsenal har tillräckligt med rutin för att kunna hantera det hela. ”There will be nerves again [at Newcastle], but we have dealt with nerves for a long, long time now. It is natural of course, because it shows that [the players] care but this team is on an exceptional run and has an exceptional spirit. We have 70 points, the target is 73, so let's just go with the spirit and desire we have and I think we can do it.”
THE PLAYERS
Gibbs hyllar lagkamraterna: ”We showed true character”
Det krävs ingen avancerad matematisk kunskap för att ha koll på läget inför matchen mot Newcastle på söndag. En seger på St. James Park och CL-platsen är i hamn. Åtminstone den fjärdeplacering som leder till sista kvalrundan inför gruppspelet. Chansen till tredjeplatsen lever även den, men då får vi ta och hoppas på att Everton kan knipa poäng på Stamford Bridge. Och visst, en förlust (ta i trä) kan även det räcka. Tottenham är tvungna att vinna sin match mot Sunderland, hur det än går för Gunners. En kille som självfallet tror på Arsenal i avslutningen är Kieran Gibbs; “It was all about the win. I thought the performance was, in spells, really good. We started well and then they got a foothold in the game unexpectedly, but we showed true character and won the game convincingly in the end. The fact it has gone down to the wire again shows just how competitive this league is.”
Segern mot Wigan innebar Arsenals tionde raka match utan förlust, vilket åter bekräftar lagets styrka under vårsäsongen. Ifjol seglade man ikapp och förbi sina rivaler i norra London – i år kan samma visa upprepas. Laget gav aldrig upp när det såg som mörkast ut i början av året, menar Gibbs. ”In January people were saying we were not supposed to be [in the top four]. The way the squad has stuck together this season and never given up is credit to them and I believe we deserve nothing more than to be where we want to be. It is a test we have passed this season and that is credit to the players because it is not easy, especially for those who have come in. It must have been a shock to their systems but they have shown what characters they are,” säger Kieran Gibbs.
Ramsey om avslutningen: ”This is what we love to do”
Mannen bakom 4–1-målet igår – det mål som satte in den riktiga dödsstöten i Wigans PL-sejour – var Aaron Ramsey. Walesaren menar att laget visade sin sanna kvalité under andra halvlek – och han insisterar att laget är redo att gå för segern uppe i Newcastle på säsongens sista speldag. ”We got the early goal and then we sort of panicked a bit. They showed what good form they have been in of late when they got a goal back. In the end, we did the job, we got the win and it's the perfect way to finish the season here. We have one game left to finish off to get that Champions League place. This is what we love to do - play football. Every game there is a lot of pressure, this game was no different tonight, we had to win to keep ourselves in the driving seat and we managed to do that. We are looking forward to going to Newcastle, finishing the job off and getting into the Champions League next season.”
Walcott tror på laget: ”We know we can play our game and win there”
En annan målskytt i gårdagens seger var Theo Walcott, som därmed gjorde sitt fjortonde ligamål för säsongen. Hans viktiga 2–1-mål var en viktig pusselbit i lagets seger mot Wigan. ”It was a massive three points. That's what we needed. We knew it was in our hands and it was probably a fair [scoreline] going into the second half. We showed our quality and we managed to take our chances, and that's important. The morale is great, it always has been, and that showed with our second-half performance. At times we take a while to get going but to be honest Wigan played some [good] football at times. It was always going to be difficult but we managed to hold on.”
Nu väntar en nervig avslutning, där väldigt mycket står för spel. “I think nerves are normal but we've been there before, we've done that final day before. We can look for our experience and try and use it. It will be a tough game but Newcastle are safe there. We know we can play our game and win there,” säger Theo Walcott.
INJURIES
+ Mikel Arteta (vad) – Under gårdagens presskonferens kom inga klara besked från Wenger; ”He is not alright, he pulled his calf so that could be a problem for Sunday. We don't know, we have to wait for 24 hours. He is a massive doubt for Sunday.”
+ Abou Diaby (korsband) – Långtidsskadad. Beräknas vara tillbaka i träning vid årsskiftet.
Återkommer i dagarna med en sista rapport inför söndagens thriller.
COYG!
Victoria Concordia Crescit.
