Wenger: Arsenal have been to Hell and back
Published 23:00 18/11/11 By Neil McLeman
Arsene Wenger has admitted “the Devil” is still stalking Arsenal’s season - and they remain in danger of slipping back into hell.
The Gunners have driven away their early-season demons by going unbeaten in seven games in all competitions.
A fifth consecutive Premier League win in Saturday's lunchtime game at Norwich will move them level on points with fourth-place Chelsea.
But the philosophical Frenchman fears his team, who conceded a nightmare eight goals at Manchester United in August, have still to escape the dark spectre of failure.
“Usually, once the Devil has you in his hands, he doesn’t let you go again,” he said. “What I mean is that you are concerned that the confidence level drops and that it takes time to come out of it.
"In football, you can never rule anything out. Once you are 17th in the league you cannot say for a club like Arsenal that it is a comfortable position.
“It is still a warning in our head, but I think we have showed remarkable mental strength and consistency since.
“We came from Hell and if we have learned something it is to put 100 per cent effort in every single game. Maybe to have gone there helps us keep the urgency.”
Seeking their first trophy since 2005, Arsenal are already 12 points behind unbeaten league leaders Manchester City.
“We are too far away from the top at the moment,” Wenger admitted. “My complete focus is to reduce that gap before Christmas.
“Then in the second half of the season, we play all of these teams at home, so if we can manage to that, we still have a chance to come back.”
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry came back to train with the club this week, but will not play for them on a David Beckham-style loan deal from his MLS side, New York Red Bulls.
“To practice with us for him is a pleasure - for him and for us,” Wenger said of his former captain. “But his future is in the States.
"He is going back in February. Until then we will just help him to practice and keep fit.”
Wenger said the current star striker, Robin van Persie, will get the chanced to extend his hot streak of eight goals in his last four league games.
“He will play [against Norwich] and if possible again on Wednesday [against Borussia Dortmund, in the Champions League], of course,” Wenger said.
After striker Maroune Chamakh expressed his frustration at his lack of game time this week, the Arsenal manager insisted the “developing” Theo Walcott is content out on the wing.
“His desire is to play in the middle, and one day he will,” he said. “At the moment he’s still running 100m in 11 seconds, so it’s good to put him out there.”
The defence is more of a concern for Arsenal, with injuries to Carl Jenkinson (back) and Kieran Gibbs (hernia) forcing either Johan Djourou or Laurent Koscielny to fill in at full-back.
“Frankly, no, we do not have enough cover,” Wenger said.
But that does not mean Arsenal will return to try to sign Bolton's England defender Gary Cahill in January.
“He is not someone I would be interested in,” Wenger stated. “I’ve got five central defenders, Koscielny, Squillaci, Mertesacker, Vermaelen and Djourou.
"Of this five, four are international players. We were in the market in the summer but at that time they were greedy.”
Norwich v Arsenal preview: Johnson and Martin fit, Gibbs and Jenkinson out
Simon Bird's Premier League previews and predictions (Week 12)
