Arsène Wenger said last night that it is foolish to believe that Arsenal cannot be caught. It would be even more crass to think that his young side do not have the maturity or stamina to win the Barclays Premier League after they extended their lead at the top with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
A subdued Sunday turned into a miserable Monday for Arsenal’s title challengers as Wenger’s team disposed of Blackburn despite missing ten players. Arsenal took advantage of Chelsea’s draw with Liverpool and Manchester United’s defeat by Manchester City to move five points clear of United and eight ahead of Chelsea.
“It was a very good weekend for us. We were a bit under pressure to take advantage of the situation,” Wenger said. An early goal from Philippe Senderos provided a perfect start, but the win was not sealed until Emmanuel Adebayor struck in injury time.
“We always had the belief from the first day, but there’s still a long way to go,” Wenger added. “As soon as you’re not at your best at the top, you can drop points. We have seen that over the weekend.
“We still have 12 games to go. We are in a good position, we believe we can do it. But we’re not fools as well: it’s far from being over. We’ll have to fight until the last minute of the championship. We still have hard games ahead of us.” Despite Arsenal’s advantage, Wenger refused to describe his side as favourites. “That’s not my concern,” he said.
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Adebayor has scored in nine successive games and has drawn level with Cristiano Ronaldo, of United, on 19 league goals for the season. “I just want the team to win the games. I don’t mind who scores,” Wenger said.
Mark Hughes, the Blackburn manager, took heart from the spirit his team showed after going behind so early. While injuries and suspensions forced Hughes to field a weakened line-up, Arsenal were even more deprived and Cesc Fàbregas, who impressed, had spent the weekend in bed because of a throat infection.
The manner of Arsenal’s victory was as disheartening to their challengers as the outcome. They were dominant and composed and while a repeat of last term’s 6-2 league thrashing of Blackburn was never likely, Wenger’s men merited at least a three-goal margin of victory against a side that had not lost for seven league matches.
There was some degree of catharsis in the clean sheet for Jens Lehmann, deputising in goal for the unwell Manuel Almunia. It was only the German’s second start in the league since August, when he lost his place three games into the season after fumbling a long-range shot by David Dunn to give Blackburn a draw at Ewood Park.
Despite their aching bodies, Wenger’s team will feel mentally fresh for their FA Cup fifth-round tie with Manchester United on Saturday. Arsenal’s next league game is not until February 23, when they travel to Birmingham City for a lunchtime kick-off. Since United do not play until that evening, Wenger will be confident of extending the lead to eight points, at least for a few hours.
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Without a match this weekend, Blackburn fly to Florida tomorrow — for a warm-weather break rather than to promote their brand. After struggling valiantly but vainly to keep pace with their opponents, they probably deserve a spell in the sun. For Arsenal, the outlook just grows brighter and brighter.