Arsenal get back to winning ways
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has got something to smile about, after a 4-2 win over Aston Villa away from home, following a poor week in which they lost two games. First they were beaten 3-2 by local rivals Tottenham, after throwing away a 2-0 half-tie
lead. Then the Gunners lost their second consecutive game in the Champions League away to Braga 2-0.
With Chelsea and Manchester United failing to capitalize on Arsenal’s slip up against Spurs last week, the Gunners once again found themselves with a chance to go to the top of the Premier League against Aston Villa. This time however the Londoners showed
no signs of nerves, as they hit the ground running at Villa Park, as the home side struggled to get out of their own half. Arshavin and Nasri scored for Arsenal as they took a 2-0 advantage into half-time, but having thrown away a similar lead last time out,
they looked visibly rattled in the second half. Villa scored within minutes of the restart, but Arsenal managed to extend their lead and eventually cruised to a 4-2 win, to go to the top of the league for the first time this season.
Gerard Houllier wasn’t pleased with his team’s performance on the night. Being in the bottom half of the table, Houllier admitted his side was always playing catch up after a ruthless first half display from the Gunners. He said after the game, "It's just
a shame that when we got to 2-1 that we couldn't keep the score like that for 10 minutes because, after what happened to Arsenal last week, they would have been shaky. Their third goal was the pivotal moment of the game but overall we were beaten by a better
team than ourselves, simple as that." This was Villa’s second straight defeat and under Gerard Houllier, as they now have just one win from their last nine league games.
The win meant Arsenal maintained the best away record in the league this season, despite their poor home form which has seen them lose three times already to West Brom, Newcastle and Tottenham. Arsene Wenger rubbished any ideas of his side having a psychological
hang up at home. He said, “The fact we have away wins, but are not winning so much at home, I feel it is a quirk. I don't believe we have a mental problem in terms of playing at home. I would prefer to have the problem this way around rather than the other
way around. 'It is good to know you can win away and, at some stage at home, you know you will get things right. There is no fear about playing at home.”
The Gunners impressive away record is a good sign for them, since they face Manchester United in the second week of December. With Arsenal only two points behind the new league leaders, which clash may well determine which side goes into the packed Christmas
fixture list on top of the league.
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