Arsenal starts tough stretch with welcome win

Arsenal assistant coach Steve Bould said his side's 2-1 win at Montpellier in the Champions League on Tuesday represented a promising start to a daunting run of fixtures.

First-half goals from Lukas Podolski and Gervinho enabled Arsenal to fight back after Younes Belhanda gave Montpellier an early lead at Stade de la Mosson, leaving the Gunners level on points with Schalke at the top of Group B.

After previous wins over Liverpool and Southampton, Arsenal now has three consecutive victories behind it, but the sequence of matches taking it into October could determine its objectives for the rest of the season.

Arsenal visits English champion Manchester City on Sunday and hosts European champion Chelsea on Sept 29, before returning to Champions League duty with a home game against Olympiakos on Oct 3.

Bould, who was standing in for the suspended Arsene Wenger in Montpellier, said the way the visitor withstood a second-half surge from its host augured well for the forthcoming showdown with City.

"We'll go in there with a bit of confidence, and people have the belief that things are going well," he said.

"It'll be a proper test, but it's where we want to be and hopefully we'll come out the other side and say that we've done well again.

"We've had a decent start to the season. This keeps the run going, and not just for the Champions League. We've got some tough games coming up.

"We've got great spirit and that was evident tonight. Everyone was digging in, and things are looking OK."

Arsenal's evening had started badly when Belhanda coolly chipped Vito Mannone from the penalty spot after Thomas Vermaelen conceded a penalty for a foul on the Moroccan playmaker.

However, goals in quick succession from Podolski and Gervinho meant Arsenal needed only nine minutes to turn the game around, and Bould praised the Podolski after he slotted home his 16th-minute equalizer.

"I've not seen many finishers as good as him, ever," said the former Arsenal centerback.

"In training, it's right foot, left foot; it goes in at 100 miles an hour. He's just fabulous - a good trainer, and a good boy. He's really added something this year."

A summer arrival from Cologne, Podolski has now scored three goals for his new employers.

Fellow new boy Olivier Giroud, in contrast, is still waiting for his first goal, but it was his instinctive touch that set up Podolski's equalizer and Bould lauded the Frenchman's performance against his former club.

"I thought he did a really good team job," he said.

"He works really hard for the team, and at set pieces he's fabulous. He had one chance, at the near post, but that was difficult. He's a really hard-working boy, and I'm sure the goals will come."

Montpellier's preparations for its first Champions League match had been far from ideal, the French champion having lost three and drawn one of its first five Ligue 1 matches.

However, in the second half it played with an air of self-belief that belied its domestic struggles, while Remy Cabella came desperately close to an equalizer with an audacious chip that came back off the crossbar.

"I'm aware of what the boys have done," said Montpellier coach Rene Girard. "You can't be happy when you lose, but there were lots of satisfactions. I think it could be a launchpad for our season."

(China Daily 09/20/2012 page23)