Friday, 26th October, 2012
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker believes that the international break knocked the Gunners out of their stride – and they must get back to winning ways quickly.
Mertesacker’s men went down to a 1-0 defeat to lowly Norwich City in the Premier League last weekend and also suffered another damaging loss in midweek, this time being beaten 2-0 at home in the Champions League by German giants Schalke.
A present, it is possible for the Gunners to write both games off as a blip, but for that to happen they will need to bounce back tomorrow when QPR visit the Emirates Stadium.
For Mertesacker, what he sees as a "blip" is in large part down to the international break.
"We have had a difficult week, our results were kind of an accident, now we have to find our game again", the giant centre back told his club’s official site.
"The international break was kind of a killer for us. We have to find our strength again quickly."
relatedNewsStoryAnd Mertesacker stressed just how important it is for the team to respond, to avoid getting into a pattern of poor form.
"We have the potential in us, but first we have to fight. We have to learn quickly from what happened [at Norwich last weekend] and against Schalke.
"If we do not find these solutions, it is going to be difficult in the Premier League and the Champions League.
"It is our task now to find our self-confidence, we have great players with great potential. So it will be good to have a game in three days so we can show our potential again."
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