Chelsea v Arsenal:ARSENE WENGER has risked antagonising his club's supporters by saying that finishing third in the Premier League would not be a disaster and, in an apparent dig at Manchester United and Aston Villa, suggested that winning the League Cup hardly counted as a trophy.
Though it is hardly the sort of thing Arsenal’s fans want to hear as their side once again appear to be found wanting in the chase for the title, Wenger insisted: “When you are fighting with Manchester City, Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa you cannot say that because you finished third it is a disaster. It is very important to win trophies but if you do not, you do not go from being fantastic to zero.”
Arsenal take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow desperately needing a win to restore their title hopes after succumbing meekly to United last Sunday, with the Champions League their only other chance of a trophy. But Wenger appeared to indicate that the pursuit of silverware for its own sake was overrated, and that although United and Villa would contest the League Cup final, the eventual prize was hardly worth the effort.
“If you win the League Cup can you honestly say you have won a trophy?” he said. “We have got out of the group stages in the Champions League for 10 seasons in a row, that is three times more difficult than winning the League Cup five times. And finishing third in the league is more difficult than winning the League Cup.”
Arsenal would fall nine points behind Chelsea with 13 games to go, and possibly seven behind Manchester United, if they were to lose to Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but Wenger is adamant that such a deficit could be retrieved.
His confidence springs in part from the way his team reacted to being dismissed as title contenders after Chelsea’s 3-0 win at the Emirates in November, embarking on a 10-match unbeaten run to clamber back into contention.
“The result (against Chelsea) will be important but no matter what happens we will fight until the end of the season because you can see that everyone is dropping points and it could come down to the team that wants it more,” said Wenger. “It could also depend on who goes farther in the Champions League, on injuries and on players’ form – for example,
“Wayne Rooney is in super form at the moment but will it last until the end of the season? Besides, if we have already come back from being possibly 11 points behind, why should we give up if we go nine points behind?”
Arsenal’s resurgence was brought to a shuddering halt by United’s 3-1 humbling of them at the Emirates. Wenger attributes that defeat to a lack of trophy-winning experience, which deprives his team of the savoir faire to prevail in high-stakes struggles.
“My players want it so much that sometimes they can get a little bit restricted,” he explained. “Because they have not won yet they make it harder in their head than it really is. When we get close we miss a little bit, we play a little bit with a handbrake.”
Wenger said the required nous will “develop naturally”, but acknowledged that beating their main rivals would accelerate the process. In their last eight games against United and Chelsea, Arsenal have drawn once and lost seven times. “I know how much the players need these kind of wins to finish the development of the team so when you just miss out in a big game, like against United, you are frustrated.”
Guardian Service
