I have had belief since the first day of the season

Thus spake Arsene following the win at Molineux at the weekend. Nothing unusual in his words, a manager that does not believe in his players is in deep trouble.

Wenger though has more reason than any other, with the possible exception of Carlo Ancelotti, to be satisfied with the opening quarter of this campaign. His squad has defied critics from within and without, to produce the most consistent attacking formula on display.

Defeating Wolves is in itself nothing out of the ordinary. If a team is to win the Premier League, losing fixtures at places like Molineux is unthinkable. Mentally that was a hurdle which needed to be overcome, which to date has successfully been negotiated. It ought to have brought about less nervousness when these fixtures appear – a regular occurrence since most of the teams are below us in the league – yet there is still some trepidation. A bit more confidence ought to show through, balancing against arrogance.

The climb to second has been largely under the media radar, preoccupation with Liverpool, United and Chelsea to Arsenal’s advantage. We now witness the unctuous manoueverings of hacks is now taking place, the mantra of ‘we never wrote them off‘ becoming more prevalent. A certain delight can be taken from that on the part of supporters but now the pressure will be cranked up on the players, particularly with the upcoming visit to Stamford Bridge.

Cesc offered a suitable note of caution about the attack:

We do worry about the goals coming to an end. We talk about what will happen if they stop. It is great when we are scoring so many goals and we have a threat all over the team, but we know that we have to keep that right the way through.

There is no point scoring goals like we are until December and then it ends. That will not win the title. So the fear that the run will come to an end is keeping us focused because we want to win the title and we know we have to carry on.

Whatever it takes to keep the players focussed is key. Fear of failure is not a problem unless it becomes restrictive. However, the confidence that is being bred in their play shows no sign of that happening. Arsene will earn his corn in this respect and knows it:

I hope to keep convincing the players they could have a interesting part to play in the championship. The most important thing is to play for each other and keep your belief. In this job there is never enough belief.

Absolutely, key to it will be getting the players to concentrate on the match at Sunderland once they return from internationals. Wenger though is convinced that they are ready for any adversity which might be around the corner:

I believe something that is very important is that we have built the team together for a few years. I feel we have learned a lot. Many of the players who played two years ago are in the squad today. That’s why I am really happy when we play as a real team.

Which is why the media underestimated the players from the start of the season. Paul Hayward offered the opinion that this is the last season when the players can be considered young. I don’t think he is wrong entirely in that assertion, if he intended the word ‘young’ as a euphemism for inexperienced. Even then, it is pushing the point a little since most of the squad are already beyond 100 appearances. Adversity in those matches is worth more than a dozen easy victories.

’til Tomorrow.