Gael Clichy hailed Arsenal's brilliant victory at Aston Villa as
the strongest proof yet that his side can go on to win the title
this season.
The Premier League leaders extended the gap at the top to five
points following Saturday's 2-1 win over in-form Villa and, even if
Manchester United win at Fulham tonight, Arsene Wenger's team will
go six points clear if they win their game in hand at Newcastle on
Wednesday.
"Those three points are really important," said Clichy. "It was a
great result away from home and against a team who have been
playing well. We were 1-0 down but once again we came back and
showed great spirit.
"I think we showed we have the desire to make something this year
and like the boss says we have quality and great strength in the
team so we have to carry on like this because I think we can make
something happen.
"We know that if we win against Newcastle we can make the gap even
bigger so that's why it [the Villa win] was even more
important."
At the weekend, Arsenal were without Cesc Fabregas for the first
time in the league this season, as well as long-term absentee Robin
van Persie, but their first-half display, featuring superb goals
from the outstanding Mathieu Flamini and Emmanuel Adebayor, was
their most scintillating this season.
Clichy warned Arsenal's title rivals they will be even more
dazzling when those creative beacons return.
"We are looking forward to seeing Robin and Cesc again because with
them it is even better but, even though we miss them both, the
squad has enough quality to cope.
"It is a bit too early in the season to talk about being champions.
We still have plenty of games to play. This week is a big week for
us. We have to take game after game and I think we can do something
but let's think about Newcastle first and we will see about the
rest.
"I don't know if it will be a psychological blow to extend the lead
but we know we can do it. I think we can get three points up there
but Newcastle are a tough side to beat away. It is important to
stay focused now."
The Frenchman says he is not surprised by Arsenal's remarkable run
this season.
"Of course being top of the league is a great pleasure but since
the first day in pre-season I told you that the team had plenty of
quality and the spirit and Arsenal were ready for this
season.
"Now we are in December and we have shown that week in, week
out."
Despite the consistency of Arsenal's performances, Adebayor says it
is premature to suggest they can go through the season unbeaten for
the second time in five years.
He said: "I know people are starting to say already that we can go
unbeaten but I know the most important thing is keep on doing a
good job and keep on playing our football.
"Three or four months ago there were people saying 'we are not sure
Arsenal are going to finish in the top four', and now they are
mentioning we could go unbeaten for the season.
"The most important thing is to focus on our job. We don't care
what people are saying. It is good that people are talking good
things about the club and we are very happy about those things. The
crucial thing is to keep our head on our shoulders, keep on doing a
good job, keep on performing and at the end of the season we can
talk about being unbeaten or not."