Arsene Wenger feels Arsenal’s victory at Bayern Munich last season has given them the confidence to believe they can win anywhere away from home.
The Gunners lost the home leg 3-1 in the Champions League Round of 16 and were odds on for a heavy defeat at the Allianz Arena but a goal in either half by Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny helped the North London club to a 2-0 win but eventually lost due to the away goals rule.
That win was the first of nine successive away victories and Wenger is hoping the run continues ahead of their opening Champions League group game away to Marseille on Wednesday.
The Frenchman was full of praise for his side and claims that the win made the Gunners believe they can overthrow any team in the world.
Speaking to Arsenal official website, he said:
What happened that night is that we were in a position where we were expected to be hammered and everyone predicted a six or seven-nil.
We had nothing to lose, we decided to go for it and realised after the game we were very close to knocking them out.
Overall, I believe even last season we had a decent away record and from that moment you think, ‘If we can go to Munich and win, why not anywhere else?’
Wenger was also pleased by the return to fitness of Thomas Vermaelen, whose arrival shall provide some much needed cover to their backline. He added:
It is fantastic to have him back, as a character and a player. Everyone is happy that he is back.
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He has gone through a difficult period but he is a great player, and will show that now that he is completely fit and available.
The away win against Bayern Munich was just the spark Arsenal needed last season which eventually ended in a top four finish and qualification for Play off game which we won against Fenerbache few weeks back to make it to the Champions League group stages for the 16th straight time.
I too am of the same impression that the win at the Allianz arena was the turning point for Arsenal last season which gave us the confidence and belief that we can actually beat Spurs to the fourth position which we eventually did. The win also put us on an unbeaten run in the Premier League as we took 26 points from the final 10 matches.
It is also great to see Verminator back on pitch as it will give us a reliable back up in the central defense and it also means that Arsenal have a full fit squad in terms of defense with Monreal also back. The gunners will have a busy schedule with 4 games with in just 10 days starting with an away fixture against Marseille tomorrow, and it is nice to see our defense is fully fit as it will give us a chance to rotate.
What do you say Gooners?
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