Premier league Round Up: Arsenal - 4th January 2011
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has claimed that it is because of his squad’s tough mentality this season that the Gunners are currently firm in the title race.
It was that mental toughness which led to Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Birmingham City at St Andrews. St Andrews has become somewhat of a fortress in recent years, as Birmingham was undefeated for an entire year before losing to Everton in October. The loss against Arsenal was Birmingham’s second defeat of the season at home in nearly 30 fixtures and Arsene Wenger was happy with the performance of his team.
Birmingham have managed to take off points from other title contenders, as they managed a 1-0 victory over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 and a 1-1 draw with current table toppers Manchester United. The manager claimed that it was because of the maturity of his young squad that his side managed the win against Birmingham and feels his side is ready for the upcoming title deciding fixtures. Arsenal is currently 2 points behind both the Manchester based clubs, but have played one fixture more than Man United and one less than Man City.
"We are tougher mentally this season because we have matured. Players are now in the 23-years-of-age bracket and starting to get experience. What they are doing is outstanding at that age. They want to win and they have learnt from the previous years. It is down to mental stamina now," stated the Arsenal coach.
Arsenal face a tough test tomorrow, when Man City travel to the Emirates. Arsenal managed a 3-0 victory over Man City away a few months ago, who were reduced to 10 men in the 4th minute. That proved to be the difference maker for Arsenal for the entire remaining 86 or so minutes but that may well not be the case come Wednesday.
Man City are in top form with Carlos Tevez, David Silva and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mancini-c23323 would want to copy the template of rivals Man United, who managed to hold of Arsenal’s free flowing game play by adding an extra midfielder as opposed to two strikers upfront.
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