Unai Emery has praised Arsenal’s “amazing” reaction to losing 3-1 to Manchester City at the beginning of the month, with his side since reentering the Premier League top four and reaching the Europa League round of 16 stage.
Sergio Aguero’s hat-trick secured an easy win for City over Arsenal at the Etihad, a result which saw the Gunners drop to sixth in the Premier League, behind both Chelsea and a rejuvenated Manchester United.
However Arsenal have responded well to that setback, winning consecutive league matches to leapfrog both United and Chelsea in the race for a top four finish. They did slip to a surprise 1-0 defeat in Belarus at the hands of BATE Borisov, only to win the return fixture 3-0 to set up a round of 16 clash with Ligue 1 side Rennes.
And Emery has said that he is “very proud” of how his players have fared this month, ahead of crucial fixtures against Bournemouth and north London rivals Tottenham this week.
“It was an amazing reaction to a bad moment,” Emery said. “We have gone through some bad moments — such as when we lost to Liverpool, or when we lost to BATE Borisov, or when we drew at home with Wolves. Also there were losses in the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.
“But we know that it is a process. And the most important thing, for me, is to be consistent. To be consistent when you win and you lose. And to be demanding of ourselves in each training session and match. And to push and carry on. So the message in the dressing room is the same.
“I am very proud of their players response. In each match, in the difficult moments and the good moments. But to be consistent is very important for us, for the coach and each player.”
Emery also insisted that his side are fully focused on beating Bournemouth this evening and would not start their preparations for Saturday’s crunch match against Spurs until they have three points in the bag.
“100% our focus is on tomorrow,” he said. “The three points is the same against Tottenham. After we can speak about the difference because it is a derby. But the points are the same.”
Arsenal expected starting XI: Leno; Monreal, Koscielny, Mudtafi, Maitland-Niles; Guendouzi, Torreira; Suarez, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang.
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