UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger tells media that a truly good team must switch between competitions with equal energy and focus

Record ID: 860492

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger tells media that a truly good team must switch between competitions with equal energy and focus
  • Date: 19th February 2011
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (RECENT) (REUTERS) ARSENAL PLAYERS JOGGING THEO WALCOTT (HAT), JACK WILSHERE AND ROBIN VAN PERSIE JOGGING, FOLLOWED BY OTHER PLAYERS
  • Embargoed: 6th March 2011 12:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom, United Kingdom
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  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA4G8DM96809J0OMYTWNRMW0LN0
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  • Story Text: Arsenal must come down from the high of beating Barcelona at home in the Champions League on Wednesday (February 16) to the more mundane surroundings of Brisbane Road as they face League 1 side (third division) Leyton Orient in the fifth round of the English FA Cup on Sunday (February 20).
    Arsenal Manager Arsene Wenger told a news conference on Friday (February 18) that switching between competitions is a big challenge.
    ''We know that it will be a different game but the commitment needed will be exactly the same. We are hungry for success. From Wednesday night's game we can a bit more belief, more certainty about how we behave but we want to be conscious as well that it's FA Cup, it means total focus, total commitment to be successful,'' said Wenger Asked about Jack Wilshere's performance on Wednesday (February 16) Wenger said: ''He takes everything at the moment with a cool head and that's what I like... he's not inhibited and just plays free off his chest.'' Arsenal have plenty to prove having not won a trophy since they lifted the FA Cup in 2005. This season Wenger has put out strong teams in all competitions.
    The north Londoners have made it to the Carling Cup final where they will play Birmingham on February 27 and are second in the premier league.
    Sunday's League 1 (third division) opposition may be relative small-fry but Arsenal came close to exiting this competition to championship side (second division) Leeds in the fourth round.
    ''The media... give more importance to some games than to the others but for us to win trophies we have to take a distance with that and be capable to switch from one competition to the other with exactly the same commitment. When you're a top level competitive man, or team, you go absolutely 100 percent committed into every game,'' Wenger said.
    Theo Walcott, who went off in the second half of the 2-1 Champions League win with a hamstring tweak, is expected to be available on Sunday, as is Bacary Sagna who was suspended on Wednesday.
    Centre back Johan Djourou is out, after hurting his back on Wednesday, along with the suspended Abou Diaby but striker Marouane Chamakh will return to the squad.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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