All Gunners blazing at the right time

 

Romilly Evans reviews a good week for Arsenal and thinks it can pave the way to next year's Champions League...

 

It was a week when all Premier League interest in the Champions League was extinguished. But after Saturday's results, the only thing interesting about the Premier  League now is qualification for next year's Champions League places.

 

Manchester City's abject collapse at Everton (who have now single-handedly accounted for a quarter of the points that Roberto Mancini has conceded as Shy Blues boss)  gift-wrapped the title for their neighbours with a neat 15-point bow. While at the bottom of the table, clear blue water emerged between Wigan, Reading, QPR and the  remaining relegation contenders.

 

It's been a strange season in the top flight, where Man United's supposed susceptibilities have never been exposed by a host of contenders whose challenges have  unravelled with frailties of their own. City have been deeply disappointing, while Chelsea were engulfed in transitional turmoil. As for Arsenal, well, they've faded  as a force to the point where their north London rivals at Tottenham have usurped them in the Top Four pecking order.

 

But the past week has provided an eloquent reminder that the Gunners are no longer firing blanks. And their challenge for the elite European places is back on track at  just the right time. Emboldened by their impressive midweek showing in Munich - yet weary of legs as a consequence - Arsene Wenger's boys dug out another 2-0 win on  the road to Swansea. It was a victory that reapplied the pressure on the four teams above them at a crucial juncture in the league run-in.

 

Wenger, of course, has had to weather both media storm and fan revolt on an unprecedented level this campaign. Derby losses to Spurs have further tweaked the  Frenchman's nose, but last week's performances demonstrated that this squad retain the resilience and ability to generate success at the highest level.

 

Consistency has been the problem, intrinsically linked to a wavering self-belief. Theo Walcott has spoken freely and repeatedly of this problem. And when your flagship  players query the confidence, those doubts drain down the team totem pole faster than you can say Big Chief Sitting Duck. However, it appears that this vital component  has now been restored after two huge wins inside four days.

 

Still sitting fifth in the league, Wenger cannot afford to rest on his laurels. Especially with Everton also finding their second wind this term. But Chelsea and Spurs  are at least back within hailing distance and his players are proving that once again they have the stomach for the CL fight (and they're currently 2.1 to back to succeed).

 

"After Everton's win, the pressure was big," admitted Wenger. But we showed we have the right spirit and attitude. We gave absolutely everything and will continue to  do so until the end of the year. Only then we will know if it's enough." He then had to dash off to claim first prize in a state-the-obvious competition.

 

Equally evident has been some much-needed assurance in the Arsenal defence. After the false dawn of some early-season clean sheets, The Gunners rearguard showcased  renewed solidity. Confidence could again be the answer here, most tellingly in the shape Lukasz Fabianski, who again looked assured in goal after a textbook display  earlier in the week against Bayern. Wojciech Szczesny (talented but the sort of keeper best watched from behind a comfy cushion) will struggle to regain his place from  Fabianski on this evidence.

 

Wenger's future at the club will be questioned as often as the takeover talk which masses around the Emirates - and after another rumoured bid from a Middle Eastern  consortium, that's quite a lot. However, the 63-year-old's competitive fires rage undimmed in the face of what he darkly refers to as "les forces externales."

 

Perhaps that's because of the faith his has in his internal attributes. Exciting, young players like Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs, Carl  Jenkinson and Aaron Ramsey who, coupled to Walcott, offer the promise of a better tomorrow for Arsenal fans. That brighter dawn may yet begin with Champions League  qualification for 2014, also the year in which Wenger's contract will expire.

 

For now, though, this seasoned Gallic general has reconfigured his battered compass and rediscovered which way north is. Arsenal are on the up and back on the map.  Don't expect their boss to walk off it anytime soon.

 

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