Wenger laughing last with Premiership's best
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Wenger laughing last with Premiership's best
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EPL Extra Time: Wenger laughing last with Premiership's best
By Ian Edwards, Special to Yahoo! Sports
December 3, 2007
Arsene Wenger was the only one laughing in the summer when people were lining up to tell him Arsenal would struggle to qualify for the Champions League much less challenge for the Premiership title. With the loss of Thierry Henry and the continued concerns about lack of sufficient funds to spend like the superpowers of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, the doom mongers were gathering like vultures over a corpse.
Well, the Arsenal manager is laughing even louder now and not just at his own flair for words after describing his team's 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa as "brilliant and resilient."
And Wenger has every right to laugh until his ribs ache. He has the best football team in the Premiership. Bar none.
If you don't believe him, then just ask Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa and England midfielder who was given one of his most educational 90 minutes by Emmanuel Adebayor and company at Villa Park without the injured Cesc Fabregas.
Barry is not one for shooting his mouth off and never prone to hyperbole. In fact, he's quite the opposite. But seldom has he endured the footballing equivalent of being the little kid trying to land punches while being kept out of reach by a bigger brother's hand on the head.
"Playing against Arsenal was a big lesson for us. They played some of the best football I have seen at Villa Park for many years," Barry said. "We were taught a lesson by them and they showed everyone how to play the game. They are so easy on the eye.
"I don‘t think there is a team in the country that can touch them with that style of football. They are out on their own and that is all down to Arsene Wenger for the way he has got them playing."
Manchester United can reduce Arsenal's Premiership lead to three points Monday night against Fulham, but the Gunners can stretch it again on Wednesday when they travel to Newcastle United, which, given its current state, is hardly going to present any kind of firm resistance. That would also mean an incredible eight-point advantage over Chelsea – a cushion that is likely to be maintained until Avram Grant takes his side to Emirates Stadium on December 16.
Fabregas will still be sidelined for the visit to St James' Park because of his hamstring problem, but the fact that Arsenal has proved it can beat an improving Villa side without the talismanic Spaniard is a frightening thought for its rivals. That said, his absence causes little concern in the Arsenal dressing room.
"Fabregas is one of the most important members of the squad, but if he is not playing then we have to do the job for him," Adebayor said. "We knew he was somewhere at home watching on TV and we had to do the job for him. We played for him. He is one of the best midfielders in the world, there is no doubt about that."
"Three or four months ago, people were saying we would not finish fourth. Now they say we're going to be unbeaten all season. We don't care what people are saying. If we fight together like brothers, we can achieve something. That's what we want to do."
Arsenal, which has 11 wins and three draws in 14 league matches, has lost just one game in 22 all season, and that defeat was largely a meaningless Champions League group game against Sevilla when the Gunners were already certain of qualification for the knockout stages.
Their brand of football is something the Premiership has not seen before. No team in the history of the competition has raised the bar this high and it is all down to Wenger and his apparent mistrust of English players.
Yet again at Villa, there were 11 foreign players on the field for Arsenal confronted by some much-vaunted young English talent in Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Barry. The Englishmen barely got in a blow of any significance and the question remains who is capable of causing any kind of serious damage to Arsenal's relentless start to the season.
Perhaps we will discover some answers when Chelsea visits the Emirates. So far, Liverpool and Manchester United have failed to upset Wenger's stride and if Arsenal can maintain the sublime form it demonstrated against Aston Villa, it is difficult to see Chelsea having any more success than its two illustrious Premier League contenders.
EPL Extra Time: Wenger laughing last with Premiership's best
By Ian Edwards, Special to Yahoo! Sports
December 3, 2007
Arsene Wenger was the only one laughing in the summer when people were lining up to tell him Arsenal would struggle to qualify for the Champions League much less challenge for the Premiership title. With the loss of Thierry Henry and the continued concerns about lack of sufficient funds to spend like the superpowers of Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, the doom mongers were gathering like vultures over a corpse.
Well, the Arsenal manager is laughing even louder now and not just at his own flair for words after describing his team's 2-1 comeback win over Aston Villa as "brilliant and resilient."
And Wenger has every right to laugh until his ribs ache. He has the best football team in the Premiership. Bar none.
If you don't believe him, then just ask Gareth Barry, the Aston Villa and England midfielder who was given one of his most educational 90 minutes by Emmanuel Adebayor and company at Villa Park without the injured Cesc Fabregas.
Barry is not one for shooting his mouth off and never prone to hyperbole. In fact, he's quite the opposite. But seldom has he endured the footballing equivalent of being the little kid trying to land punches while being kept out of reach by a bigger brother's hand on the head.
"Playing against Arsenal was a big lesson for us. They played some of the best football I have seen at Villa Park for many years," Barry said. "We were taught a lesson by them and they showed everyone how to play the game. They are so easy on the eye.
"I don‘t think there is a team in the country that can touch them with that style of football. They are out on their own and that is all down to Arsene Wenger for the way he has got them playing."
Manchester United can reduce Arsenal's Premiership lead to three points Monday night against Fulham, but the Gunners can stretch it again on Wednesday when they travel to Newcastle United, which, given its current state, is hardly going to present any kind of firm resistance. That would also mean an incredible eight-point advantage over Chelsea – a cushion that is likely to be maintained until Avram Grant takes his side to Emirates Stadium on December 16.
Fabregas will still be sidelined for the visit to St James' Park because of his hamstring problem, but the fact that Arsenal has proved it can beat an improving Villa side without the talismanic Spaniard is a frightening thought for its rivals. That said, his absence causes little concern in the Arsenal dressing room.
"Fabregas is one of the most important members of the squad, but if he is not playing then we have to do the job for him," Adebayor said. "We knew he was somewhere at home watching on TV and we had to do the job for him. We played for him. He is one of the best midfielders in the world, there is no doubt about that."
"Three or four months ago, people were saying we would not finish fourth. Now they say we're going to be unbeaten all season. We don't care what people are saying. If we fight together like brothers, we can achieve something. That's what we want to do."
Arsenal, which has 11 wins and three draws in 14 league matches, has lost just one game in 22 all season, and that defeat was largely a meaningless Champions League group game against Sevilla when the Gunners were already certain of qualification for the knockout stages.
Their brand of football is something the Premiership has not seen before. No team in the history of the competition has raised the bar this high and it is all down to Wenger and his apparent mistrust of English players.
Yet again at Villa, there were 11 foreign players on the field for Arsenal confronted by some much-vaunted young English talent in Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ashley Young and Barry. The Englishmen barely got in a blow of any significance and the question remains who is capable of causing any kind of serious damage to Arsenal's relentless start to the season.
Perhaps we will discover some answers when Chelsea visits the Emirates. So far, Liverpool and Manchester United have failed to upset Wenger's stride and if Arsenal can maintain the sublime form it demonstrated against Aston Villa, it is difficult to see Chelsea having any more success than its two illustrious Premier League contenders.
"How can someone qualify his country for the World Cup and then, because he lost a match, everyone is saying they should sack him. Please allow the man to do his work. Nobody is perfect, but if someone can qualify his country for the World Cup, then he deserves some respect. I even heard that it is the second time he has qualified Nigeria for the World Cup. That is huge". - French legend Alain Giresse on Nigeria's Shuaibu Amodu, 2010
