Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is glad that his players are proving people wrong as they sit top of the Premier League after 13 games, but he insists that there is no added pressure on them as they have always believed in themselves.
At the start of the season, no-one mentioned Wenger’s side in a potential title-race and it was pretty much going to either the Etihad Stadium or Stamford Bridge, and they looked right when The Gunners lost 3-1 at home to Aston Villa on the opening day.
However, since then, they have only lost once in the league and that was at Old Trafford, and after 13-games, they currently sit four points ahead of Chelsea and six points ahead of Manchester City.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Wenger admitted that he is proud of his players but feels no extra pressure on his shoulders just because they are leading the title-race so far.
“There is no real specific pressure. It is a desire,” the manager said. “We want to be where we are. What is important is that we want to play well and maintain that desire to play together and work.
“When I arrived here people explained I couldn’t win the title as I am foreign. Everybody has their own logic. I just think you win the title through your quality.
“If we didn’t win for eight years it is because we weren’t good enough in the important moments of the season. We have a good opportunity to show we are good enough [now] so let’s take it.
“The only thing that is changing is not our minds, it’s your mind, because until now you never ask me about the pressure because you always thought it was an accident that we are [top] and it won’t last.
“Now that it’s lasting a bit longer, you start to think: ‘we have to consider them a bit more seriously’. You start to think is it a pressure for us? No. We just continue to play well and that’s the pressure we have – the desire to play well.”
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt – @AlexsArticles
