Arsenal rather surprisingly beat Liverpool in the Premier League on Wednesday which is a great confidence booster since they have to take on Manchester City in the FA Cup during the weekend.
No one really expected the Gunners to pick up all three points against the current season’s champions but a combination of determination and some unforced errors helped the North London side win the match 2-1.
And speaking after the match, full-back Cedric Soares has admitted that Arsenal are now willing to grind it out in order to pick up wins and this has been a major improvement for the side.
He told the press after the win: “It was a great win for us. In football, in some moments, you need to be able to suffer to win. I think we are improving a lot at this. The spirit is getting better and better in the team and we showed here without suffering you cannot win.
“Some games you just need to adapt to the circumstances and last night that was the case. It was a tough game but we were able to show great character and this made the difference. We defended together and we were very, very strong. It made a huge difference.
“We know it will be another tough game against a great opponent on the weekend, but we are in a good moment. I just think we need to keep this spirit and the rest will come. If we keep working like this, it is just the natural way for a win to come.
“Last night we had a great reaction with character, we showed that sometimes you need to be able to suffer and stay together as one. We did that, we showed a great attitude, everyone was supporting one another and when that happens the wins can happen like they did.
“The team have moments and when you keep growing something the wins always give you a push.
“You have to believe in the work of the coaching staff every day and, of course, when you win you can believe more and it helps the team in that moment. I am looking forward to playing on Saturday.”
Arsenal were in no ways the better side on Wednesday but they made sure that once they got the two goals, the Liverpool forwards did not breach their defence in and around the final third.
And maybe this is the way they will have to play until Mikel Arteta can reshape the starting XI as per his liking.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also used counter-attacking football during the first few months of his reign but right now Manchester United are one of the finest attacking sides in English football. While Arsenal have to work really hard to reach the level of Manchester United but Mikel Arteta can surely take a queue out of Ole’s book.
