Wenger's Arsenal fighters ready for title battle

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-22 14:53

LONDON: Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal's title rivals his side has the physical strength and will-power to win the Premier League.

Wenger's team moved into first place in the table with a 4-2 win over Bolton at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday that underlined a new-found ability to flex its muscles.

While Arsenal have always had an impressive creative streak, they have often crumbled under pressure from opponents intent on kicking them into submission.

Judging by the way they stood up to Bolton's aggressive gameplan twice in four days to overhaul previous leaders Chelsea on goals scored, that is no longer the case.

They refused to buckle after Bolton stormed into a two-goal lead and mixed brain with brawn to romp home thanks to goals from Tomas Rosicky, Cesc Fabregas, Thomas Vermaelen (pictured) and Andrey Arshavin.

William Gallas undoubtedly went too far with a nasty stamp on Bolton midfielder Mark Davies that went unpunished in the build-up to Fabregas's equalizer and the visitors were rightly infuriated by referee Alan Wiley's decision to not even award a foul.

Wenger apologized for Gallas's tackle but he admitted he was delighted with Arsenal's resilience.

"We had two difficult games against a team with a new manager and our mental and physical strength was tested in both games," he said.

"I think we can mix it. We are certainly much more physical. They marked us man for man and didn't give us an inch of space. You are never better tested physically than when you face Bolton.

AFP