Arsenal v Southampton
By Richard Clarke
The 49-game unbeaten run is now ‘history’ in both senses of the term. That means it is proudly proclaimed in the record books and yet it is also a thing of the past.
And Arsène Wenger is only looking to the future.
It has been a busy week for the Arsenal manager. There was the signing of his new contract, burying a time capsule, accepting the Freedom of the Borough from Islington Council and leading his youngsters to a satisfying victory at Manchester City in the Carling Cup.
However you sense only Saturday’s game against Southampton will truly turn the page toward a new chapter in Arsenal’s season.
Wenger’s side picked up 19 points from 21 in the League matches that immediately followed the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford last season. At the end of their unbeaten campaign, the players talked about that game binding them together. The manager hopes this season’s encounter will do the same.
“It was a special set of circumstances on Sunday,” he said. “We did not win it but it is difficult to think of one goal-chance they had before they scored. We kept them very, very quiet.
“It has strengthened our belief to do things the right way. I feel we are more determined and resolute now. Firstly to play the game we like to play, then to keep the spirit of our game high and get back to winning habits when tomorrow’s game starts.
“Mathematically Chelsea were the big winners last weekend but we are still in a good position. Now we want to show we are even stronger.
“What is important is that we are top of the League. It doesn’t seem like that after the week we had. But if we want to win the championship we have to be strong at Highbury. That is where it starts again.”
Wenger will be without Sol Campbell (calf) but Ashley Cole (knee) and Jens Lehmann (hamstring) have passed fitness tests. They face a Southampton side struggling to keep up with the pace of the Premiership. They have just six points from their first 10 games and only goal difference is keeping them off bottom spot.
On the face of it, Steve Wigley’s outfit are made for an imposing side that has suffered the unfamiliar pain of defeat. And of course that 49-game run started with a 6-1 victory over Southampton at Highbury on May 7, 2003.
But there is a reason why Arsenal’s unbeaten season had last been achieved 115 years earlier and it is fantasy to assume they can compile another such run straight away. That is why the manager is just looking for a start tomorrow.
“We want to bounce back quickly,” said Wenger. “They are a Premier League side so we’ll have to be at our best.
“It is more important to focus on tomorrow’s game than the stuff last Sunday. We don’t want an especially positive or negative state of mind just to focus on what we want to do.
“History is history,” he concluded. “What is important is how well we play tomorrow.”
翻译：
Christopharn（未经本人和www.arsenalcn.com同意请勿转载）
英超联赛49轮不败已经成为历史。在为英格兰足球留下一项骄人纪录的同时，曾经的辉煌也已经过去，而阿森・温格正在着眼未来。
这位阿森纳主帅度过了忙碌的一周（译者注：参见上方小图），他签下了一份新合同、在新球场工地埋下了时间胶囊(time capsule)、接受了伊斯林顿区议会的表彰、并率领他阵中的明日之星，在联赛杯中令人满意的战胜了曼彻斯特城队。
可以说周六对阵南安普敦的比赛，将为阿森纳的历史翻开新的一页。
上赛季，温格的球队在老特拉福德球场0：0战平曼联后，在接下来的七场联赛中拿下了19分。不败纪录被终结后，球员们谈到了这场将他们紧紧团结在一起的比赛。温格同样希望，本赛季的这场遭遇战能起到相同的作用。
温格说：“星期天的情况很特殊。虽然我们没能取胜，但对方在得分前几乎没有获得过任何机会。在很长一段时间内，我们让他们哑了壳。”
“这场比赛让我们更加坚信，我们走在一条正确的道路上。我觉得我们现在更加果断和坚定。当明天的比赛开始后，我们首先会用我们习惯的方式去踢球，在比赛中保持高昂斗志，并重新找回胜利的感觉。”
“虽然从数字上来看，上周末的最大赢家是切尔西，但我们在积分榜上依然领先，现在到了我们证明自己更加强大的时候了。”
“重要的是我们现在是联赛领头羊，虽然上周的比赛让人感觉并非如此。但我们想要拿下联赛冠军，就必须在海布里表现过人。那将是我们重新开始的地方。”
周六的比赛中，索尔・坎贝尔将因小腿伤势而缺阵，但膝盖有伤的阿什利・科尔和肌腱有伤的延斯・莱曼已经通过了体能测试。而我们的对手南安普敦队正在为跟上英超的节奏而苦苦挣扎。他们在头十场比赛中只取得了6分，和榜尾球队相比也仅仅保有净胜球的优势。
表面上看来，史蒂夫・威格利的球队曾在阿森纳面前蒙受奇耻大辱。事实上，正是2003年5月7日在海布里6：1大胜南安普敦的比赛，揭开了阿森纳49场不败的序幕。
而问题的关键在于，上一次有球队实现整个赛季不败，要追溯到整整115年前。而在49场不败后，立刻再度上演这样的不败神话简直是天方夜谭。这也就是为什么温格期待明天是个新的开始。
温格说：“我们希望能快点振作起来。我们的对手是一支英超球队，我们必须要全力以赴。”
“关注明天的比赛，比沉溺于上周日的话题更重要。我们不需要过于积极或消极的心态，我们只想全神贯注地做我们想做的事。”
温格最后还说：“历史就是历史。现在重要的是我们明天的表现有多棒！”
[29 October 2004]
信息来源：http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=234427
[此贴子已经被作者于2004-10-30 22:01:07编辑过]
