Arsenal and Arsene Wenger need to ignore the negative vibe around them. Obviously going out of the Champions League to Monaco was a painful experience and as everyone keeps pointing out, it keeps happening at the same stage of the competition.
However, I was surprisingly not really disappointed to exit the Champions League…don’t get me wrong, it would have been nice to go through to the next round after the gigantic effort from the players but rather than focus on the negatives, let us focus on the positive. We played extremely well against a good side and continued our winning streak; Chelsea are still not home free and trust me, they are glancing nervously over their shoulders while we have a semi final in the FA cup to look forward to.
Arsenal need to be proud of everything that they have achieved in the Champions League and know that very many clubs would love to be in our shoes so why not show the rest of the Premier League that we are alive and kicking. Thierry Henry said we are back in the title race and I concur. We are seven points behind Chelsea albeit having played a game more but who is to say they will win their game in hand and if we beat them at the Emirates on April 26th, we will only be four points adrift if all other things remain constant of course.
Rather than calling on the spirit of 1997/98, Arsenal only need to look at the 2003/04 team which is none other than the Invincibles, the same team that was kicked out of the FA cup by their nemesis Manchester United and then suffered the same cruel fate in the Champions League that befell the current team on Tuesday, all in the space of a week. They then had to pick themselves up for a crucial match against Liverpool.
This current team faces a similar predicament but the difference is that they are on a hot winning streak at the moment and should do everything in their power to put pressure on Chelsea in the race for the Premier League title. Good luck to them and I am proud to be a Gunner!
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