News

Wenger - Final must be our template

Even the Invincibles weren’t at their best for every minute of their historical, unbeaten 2003/04 campaign. But they delivered more often than not.

That consistency is now the challenge for our current side as we look to build on a memorable Emirates FA Cup triumph and fight for the title next season.

The 2016/17 campaign was sprinkled with top-class performances - most notably the two wins over Chelsea - and Arsene Wenger says our cup final display must be a template.

“Yes of course, I see that as a platform to become better,” the boss told Arsenal.com.

“When you finish on a high, you want to start on a high again. If you look at the recent seasons, maybe that’s where we can improve, to start strong from the first game onwards. We have to make absolutely sure that we start in a strong way next season.

“Yes of course I’m frustrated we didn’t perform at our best more. We made 75 points and we were one point behind qualifying in the Champions League, but I believe we want to win the Premier League and therefore we have to win 26 or 27 games.

“Overall, I think we lost too many games because when you win 23 games, normally it’s a decent total, even if it’s not enough. We want to win three or four more games and of course we want to lose less as well. But I believe the quality is there.

“The team has learned a lot, going together through difficult moments and bouncing back. This team will have matured and I believe that you will see that in the next season.”

The boss introduced a new system towards the end of the season and that move to a 3-4-2-1 helped deliver nine wins in 10 games. So will Wenger plan for next season with that formation in mind?

“Certainly, I will have the continuity in the system at the start and adapt as well, because the system has to be the system that reflects the best qualities of the individual players and is efficient as a whole,” he said.

“Looking at the moment where I installed the system and the results, you would say yes it has a positive impact, basically because it gave us more defensive stability without diminishing us too much offensively. As well, maybe because every player was in a position where he could express his strengths. That has had, of course, a positive impact on the results.”

 

More polls and quizzes coming soon!

See Full List

Fixtures & Results

Premier League
Ticket Info