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Arsenal remain unbeaten in EPL, on top of Champions League Group A
Arsenal UpdateArsenal manager Arsène Wenger who is enjoying a great season, gave an interview on Arsenal.com on Tuesday prior to the Gunners crucial Champions League Group A game against Paris Saint Germain on their way to the Last 16. Arsenal who remain unbeaten this season in the England Premier League are looking like they will go through to the next stage in the Champions League by finishing on top of Group A. Wenger was asked what he believed about English clubs making progress in European competition and about Arsenal’s chances in the Champions League this season.
“I read this morning that Real Madrid are not sure whether it’s good to finish first or second! The problem is that if you finish second and get a bad draw, everybody says, ‘that’s your fault’. You want to finish first, knowing that. Is there an actual difference? I don’t know in a group of Real Madrid or Dortmund. The other groups might look at ours and think, ‘Paris Saint Germain or Arsenal - who is better? I don't know’, said Wenger. “But we want to finish first because we want to win the game. I think more than speculating, it’s more important for us to do the job,” added Wenger. “When you play at home against a big team, you want to win. When I tell you that we have been a bit stuttering recently, we played Tottenham, were 1-0 up and didn’t win the game, so we need to show that we can do that.”
“I spoke about it with my staff just before I came here. It’s fascinating to me, looking across Europe, that you have all the players away, they come back and they all have big games. AC Milan-Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid, Dortmund-Bayern, Man United-Arsenal. Players come back, they travel next morning, they play on Saturday morning, I don’t complain because it’s the same for Man United, but it’s not ideal,” continued Wenger. “It’s difficult. In England, you put all the games in a computer and you have so many different things like Arsenal can’t play at home on the same day as Tottenham. It’s very difficult to complain. It’s not ideal but we have to adapt.”
“We have an opportunity to show it against Paris Saint Germain. But before the Champions League game was the one you had to prepare for. Today, the Premier League game is the game you have to prepare for. Everywhere you go, the difference in the Champions League is that the teams all play football. In the Premier League, even if you have 80 per cent possession, you can still lose the game. The pressure on the Premier League games is today massive.”
Wenger was asked what he would do to motivate his side before the PSG game. “I think we want to show that we can beat any style of team. That’s what we have done since the start of the season,” responded Wenger. “We play a team with a different style, a team who play possession, slow and quick. We have to show that we can cope with that because they play a lot of possession and then suddenly they play quick with Cavani, Lucas Moura, they can accelerate a game. We have to show we can deal with that style, a different style to what we are used to. In England, we always play with power.”
“Monaco aside and we failed against Monaco and that is why I never forget that. But I don’t know. I feel guilty when we finish second and have a difficult tie. Let’s finish first and at least we have the advantage to play the second game at home. Hopefully we will be injury free and have everyone available.”
“I must say that I watched Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid on Saturday and I was impressed by them. They looked at the moment to be the most dangerous side,” said Wenger. After the recent EPL 1-1 draw on Saturday afternoon between Manchester United and Arsenal, Man Utd manager Jose Mourinho made another insult to Gunners manager Wenger by remarking that he has “failed to build a team to be champions for years.” Olivier Giroud's 89th-minute goal earned a draw for Arsenal at United. Arsenal striker Giroud scored at Old Trafford to secure a draw and deny Manchester United the win on Saturday.
Mourinho spoke about his old rival and adversary again. 'I said yesterday at the press conference the Arsenal manager hasn't won a championship in 14 years. I haven't won a championship in 18 months,” said Mourinho. 'He, in 14 years, failed to build a team to be champion. I've been here for four months. And the demand is only for me and not for others.' United currently are six points behind Arsenal in the Premier League and are nine off Chelsea at the top. Mourinho talked about feeling pressure to win big games for Manchester United.
'It must be because of the career I've made. Because I got to the clubs and always won right away. There was a frosty handshake between the managers at full-time at Old Trafford. And this is a more difficult reality, because it is an extremely difficult competition, with teams being prepared for a lot longer, with excellent players, with excellent coaches.”
'Manchester really live in a period that needs stability. A stability that the club wants to give me, a stability that the club gives me, a stability that the fans give me, but that the press does not accept very well.' On Wednesday, November 23, Arsenal host Paris Saint Germain at Emirated in their Champions League Group A match. Last minute seats and authentic, legal, football tickets for the not-to-be missed game are still for sale online from the safe and secure LiveFootballTickets.com football tickets marketplace.
Buy Arsenal Champions League tickets and Arsenal Premier League tickets to watch the Gunners and their star-studded side battle for glory, silverware and titles in the 2016 – 2017 football season.
