Wenger: Walcott right about attitude
Arsene Wenger says he agrees with Theo Walcott’s assertion that his Arsenal players “don’t believe they are good enough”, and wonders whether all the negativity around the team is affecting the squad.
• Blog: Is it all in their heads?
Walcott questioned whether the side have a psychological issue after the latest first-half capitulation against a big team, this time in the 2-1 defeat away to Chelsea on Sunday. The Arsenal manager, however, could only concur.
“I agree with him,” Wenger said. “The players come out and think ‘we could have done better’. But when you look at the first half we lost goals we shouldn’t lose, 50/50s you cannot lose in big games. You can say what you want but you have to go with a mentality in big games based on belief and total commitment.
“You can always find explanations but at the end of the day you turn up and you play with full power. Is the repeated sceptical attitude of the people around us affecting the belief of the players? I don’t know. But we have to raise beyond that and take that as a challenge. (more…)
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