Wenger hopes Gunners cash in on big two clash
The Gunners head to Bolton today when they could overtake leaders Chelsea and, perhaps more significantly, open up an eight-point gap on defending champions Manchester United, who lost at Liverpool last week.
While Wenger accepts with less than half a dozen matches played there is plenty of time to catch up, the Gunners boss feels having such a deficit on your title rivals could start to weigh heavily on the mind.
“You can hope that both drop points and you want to focus on you getting the points yourself,” Wenger said.
“An eight-point gap is manageable but it is still very early yet to say this game (tomorrow) is significant.
“However, when you are in a situation like these teams are, you never want to be too far behind because you never know whether the team in front of you will drop points in the end or not.
“That can create a bit of anxiety because you do not completely master any more your outcome in the league.’’
However, Wenger noted: “But do not forget Manchester United will have played at Liverpool and at Chelsea, then they will play them again at home, so there is plenty of room to recover.”
Arsenal will be looking to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches with a positive result at the Reebok Stadium, having secured a last-gasp draw from the midweek Champions League tie against Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine.
Wenger’s men have netted seven goals without reply in their last two domestic matches, shrugging off any suggestions of a club in crisis following an unexpected defeat at Fulham.
“I believe the team should get more strength out of the Kiev result and gain even more confidence, especially at a period of the season where many people did not give us that needed belief,” said Wenger.
“We have to create our own belief with our attitude and also results like that.”
Out-of-contract Brazilian midfielder Mineiro is reportedly looking for a move to England but Wenger was quick to rule out Arsenal as a likely destination.
“At the moment we do not sign Mineiro – the questions (about transfers) are endless here!” he said.
“You have players who have no contracts who can sign anywhere they want, but at the moment we are not signing anybody.”
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