Wednesday, 23rd January, 2013
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called for his players to stand up and be counted in this evening’s Premier League clash against West Ham.
The Gunners went down to a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea at the weekend which, coming hot on the heels of another loss, against Manchester City, has dealt their top four hopes a real blow.
Wenger does not believe his side can afford to drop too many more points and getting back to winning way tonight against West Ham is essential.
Beating the Hammers at the Emirates Stadium would push Arsenal on to 37 points and, while it would not move them up from their current position of sixth, it would put them just one point behind Everton and four behind Tottenham Hotspur, who hold the all-important fourth place.
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And so, now is the time for Arsenal to show their character.
"It gives me confidence but it is also frustrating as we don’t want to be in this position", the Frenchman told his club’s official site, remembering how Arsenal improved during the second half of last season.
"We want to challenge for the championship and therefore now until the end of the season we really have to stand up and show our strength and character", he continued.
"Last season we came from further behind and finished third but Chelsea are a bit away from us now. The game that we lost at Chelsea on Sunday had difficult mathematical consequences."
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