Match preview
By Richard Clarke
On the eve of the new Premier League season, Arsène Wenger was
asked when the next era in the history of Arsenal Football Cub
would begin, he replied with one word - "today".
The departure of Thierry Henry this summer may end up acting as the
dividing line between the Invincibles and the next great Arsenal
side. This season will go a long way to deciding whether the
current squad can achieve that status. But, at his first Friday
press conference of the campaign, the manager was certainly
bristling with confidence.
I feel this team learned their trade last year and they found it
was not easy, said Wenger. Now they are ready to go.
You have to accept that the team will be different and you cannot
compare any individual. We've had a few good strikers at Arsenal
and in 130 years, nobody scored more goals than Thierry Henry so
you cannot put that kind of pressure on anybody else.
So yes we will be a different team. The only thing I can say is
that we have a strong belief, a great desire for success, a great
togetherness and we are very hungry. And the fact that everyone
doubts us reinforces that.
Wenger accepts his side are the underdogs of the top four as far as
the title race goes. However it is important to remember that an
Arsenal side mostly shorn of summer departures Thierry Henry and
Freddie Ljungberg actually performed well in the head-to-heads with
Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool last term. It is the away
games against the struggling sides and home draws with mid-table
visitors that really needs improvement in comparison to last
year.
We lost the title in games against the teams from [places] 10 to
20 in the League, said Wenger. In the top four [results] we were
the best, in the top 10 we were second and against 10-20 we were
fourth. So we lost the title last year against Sheffield United,
Fulham, West Ham. These sorts of teams.
Also I must say we had a difficult start at Emirates Stadium but
in the second part of the season we did reasonably well. We have
built a history there now but, at the same time, Fulham is a derby
and they will make it difficult. It is the first game of the season
so everyone is a bit edgy but I am confident we will make it
difficult for everybody who visits us this season.
The Craven Cottage side will do likewise of course. Lawrie Sanchez
built his reputation by beating the likes of Spain and England
while in charge of Northern Ireland. He has taken many of his
countrymen to West London over the summer.
On the injury front, Arsenal have Gilberto (fatigue) and Emmanuel
Adebayor (groin) injured. Eduardo is expected to start assuming he
passes Saturdays test on his ankle knock.
It is very important for us to begin the season well, said
Wenger. Last year we were seven points behind after three games.
We drew with Aston Villa, we lost at Manchester City then we played
Middlesbrough and lost two more points. It was difficult [already]
and we had not played any of the contenders.
I feel we have a slight advantage of stability [over Fulham]. We
know how to play our game and have not changed our squad that much.
But, at the same time, we dont want to speculate on any weakness
of our opponents. It is important that we focus on expressing our
strength.
At the end of his time with the media, Wenger was asked for his
main hope for the season. He gave a telling answer.
My hope? he mused. I would say it is more a desire and inner
belief. Hope needs to wait for someone outside to do something for
you. We have an inner strength in this squad and my belief is that
we will do much better than people expect us to do.
The next nine months will give us our answer.
