• Arsenal back in the city for the first time since 8-2
thrashing
• Wenger believes Arsenal will be in the title race if they win
Arsène Wenger
believes Sunday's return to
Manchester gives Arsenal the
perfect chance to exorcise the humiliation they suffered the last
time they played in the city, and prove they are back in the title
race.
Arsenal were thrashed 8-2 by Manchester United at Old Trafford
in August, a defeat that sent them to 17th in the Premier League
with the prospects of qualifying for the Champions League appearing
difficult and their ability to mount a championship challenge
remote.
Yet Arsenal are now in fifth position and back in contention for
a berth in the top four after a run of five wins in their last six
league outings. They are conscious that if City are beaten at the
Etihad Stadium it would cut their opponents advantage to six
points.
Asked if the return to Manchester would provide an opportunity
to overcome a psychological barrier Wenger said: "I believe you
never forget that but you put it behind you. I never give too much
importance to big scores because they are always under special
circumstances. We conceded four in the last 20 minutes [actually
three] when we were down to 10 men. We were still chasing to come
back and every ball they hit went in the top corner. But it's part
of football, and it's something we don't want, but I don't think
that will even cross our mind."
Wenger added that a loss like that could aid his side's
long-term development. "If you have a strong mental response from
your players, if they are mentally strong, it can help," he said.
"It took us a while to get over it, let's not fool ourselves,
because we won one-nil with a lucky goal against Swansea [the
following weekend] and we came back slowly. But there is something
in the team that shows that we have the resilience."
Wenger was clear that if City are beaten then Arsenal should be
considered serious challengers for the Premier League. He said: "We
are on our way to recovery, but we have a big big test on Sunday
and let's see how we survive that test. We are not yet in the title
race. We have to come closer to Man City to be really in it, we are
in a race for the Champions League places at the moment. And the
purpose is to get closer and we have a good opportunity to do
it."
In recent seasons Arsenal have lost Samir Nasri, Gaël Clichy and
Kolo Touré to City as their billionaire Abu Dhabi owners have built
a squad capable of being serious contenders for the Premier League.
Wenger's ethos is to ensure Arsenal do not spend beyond the club's
means, and while he would not be drawn if long-term success over
City would bring personal satisfaction he did question whether
Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules would actually be implemented.
He said: "I would get personal professional satisfaction to win
the game. All these considerations of how much money they have and
we have do not really come into the game, into your way of thinking
for a game like that. You just want to do as well as you can. The
question is will there be a financial fair play or not. It looks
logical to have one but will it come in? I don't know. [Michel]
Platini [the Uefa president] made it one of his priorities, so
let's see if he's doing it."
Wenger also hailed the maturity of Robin van Persie, his captain
who has scored 33 league goals in 2011. "For me Robin is a great
leader, when he came to this club you would not have predicted
that, that's credit to him. Seven or eight years ago, after
Southampton for example [in 2005 when he was sent off for a
challenge on Graeme Le Saux] you would not predict that this guy
would become captain of Arsenal. He has been outstanding as a human
being, not only as a player.
"We are a team that is mature in their behaviour because the age
is higher. The players we brought in [the summer] like Mikel
Arteta, Per Mertsacker, Yossi Benayoun, Park Chu-Young, Andre
Santos - they are all between 25 and 30, they are men."
