Arsenal’s fast starts are sign of confidence says Wenger

How many times last season did Arsenal start games
badly and give themselves a mountain to climb?
Answers on a postcard please, but it was certainly a
lot. It can happen to all teams, of course, but it
became an unwanted habit for the Gunners last
season and cost us many valuable points. In fact, it
was a big part of the reason for Arsenal doing so
badly against the top teams.
That supports Arsene Wenger's theory about why it
was happening, and why the players seem to have
cut it out. The Frenchman has told Arsenal player
that it is because of confidence, or lack of it in the
case of last season. And he thinks the Gunners of this
campaign are showing fantastic team spirit and
morale, highlighted by the way they blew Napoli out
of the water at the start of our Champions League
game.
Wenger said, "We knew on our side that it was vital
to come out of the blocks in a very sharp way and it
was successful. Of course you cannot plan that you
score early goals, but it worked well.
"It's completely different [from last season]. That
shows you how unpredictable the situations are but
maybe it's linked with confidence.
"When the team has confidence they go into the
game with a positive feeling and a positive attitude.
The more you build that confidence up with the
results, the more you go into the next game thinking
let's just do it to win the game."
If that is the case then, Arsenal should be three up on
West Brom after about 20 minutes, because that first
half display against Napoli was fantasy football. I an
sure that Wenger didn't tell the players to start
slowly last season, but the lack of confidence was
evident, with defensive mistakes often setting us
back early on. Right now, every single player looks
ready to take on the world.
This also makes it easier for the players coming
through, like Gnabry, because they can play with no
fear and express themselves, and the players
returning from injury do not have as much pressure
on them, so they play better and get back in the
swing more quickly. This helps to keep building the
confidence, so one thing helps the other and so on.
Another good start today then Arsenal if you please.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.