Arsène Wenger last night challenged his players to turn today's FA Cup fifth-round trip to Old Trafford into the platform that clinches Arsenal the Premier League title. Wenger senses victory at Manchester United can galvanise Arsenal's burgeoning belief into the mettle of champions.
United are five points behind Arsenal after defeat to Manchester City and a draw at Tottenham Hotspur. Today's match has become an unexpected opportunity to strike a psychological blow against Alex Ferguson's side ahead of their April 12th league meeting.
"We want to show we can do well at Manchester United because we are going back there later in the season and we want to have an impact on what will happen," Wenger said. "We will dig deep because we want to qualify."
But the Arsenal manager took care not to indulge in the verbal jousting that has also characterised meetings between these old adversaries.
"I feel they are still in the (title) race because, two games ago, we were second: that shows you how quickly it can change from one day to the next," said Wenger. "Since the beginning of the season we have strengthened our belief, and we know that is down to us to continue just to focus on what we have done until now. Winning makes you stronger."
Off the pitch, the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov yesterday announced the purchase of 189 Arsenal shares for £1.7 million (€2.3m). He is short of the 25 per cent "blocking stake" he has said he covets, but yesterday's deal - or soon-to-be-realised trades - will make him the largest shareholder in the club. Arsenal's board is confident the "lockdown agreement" preventing share sales will prevent any hostile bid.
Meanwhile, Wenger has offered strong support for the Premier League's plan to play a 39th game overseas, insisting the wave of opposition is premature.
"There are two things I like about it," he said. "First there is a desire to innovate and be the strongest league in the world and the second thing is to do something for the fans abroad."
Wenger's view has been shaped by his experience in charge of Nagoya Grampus Eight in Japan and by the success of last year's NFL game at Wembley, which drew an 81,000 crowd. "When I came to Japan in 1995 we had to play 20 per cent of our games at a neutral ground," he said. "At the start I thought it was completely crazy but it worked tremendously well and games were sold out everywhere we played."
He sees the Premier League plan as a mirror of the NFL's move. "Everyone celebrated the Americans playing an American Football game at Wembley. It's nothing different, which is why it is too early to speak against it."
