Arsène Wenger claims Arsenal “feel like a different team” now to the panicky, vulnerable, unfocused lot who were embarrassed at Liverpool at the end of August and he has been impressed by the players’ response during a run of five wins and a draw across all competitions. “You see the way we play football. You need to have a united group to do that,” he said.
In the immediate aftermath of defeat on Merseyside many of his squad went off to mull everything over on international duty, with the added uncertainty of the last flurry of the transfer window weighing on their minds. “It was a very difficult one because you have two weeks to think about everything that happened,” Wenger said. “We worked very hard until the 31st at night and there were not easy decisions to make. For me the weight of the transfer market was much heavier than internationals.”
His relief to have got the team back together to concentrate on the immediate goal of relaunching their season was obvious.
However severe the blow, Wenger refuses to give up on his team. “I believe in human beings as well,” he says. “We are all human beings and are not fantastic every day. Maybe you, but I am not …”
Since the shuddering 4-0 defeat at Anfield, Arsenal have responded. In fairness most opponents over an unbeaten month have not been of the highest calibre, with the exception of Chelsea. But the game at Stamford Bridge was drawn and Wenger has been pleased to see how the squad has refocused, recalibrated and enjoyed the opportunity to find some rhythm. Now he wants them to round off a reassuring few weeks by picking up three points against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday. “The opportunity we have is to go into this international break differently. We play at home and we want do well before this break.”
Arsenal will make wholesale changes to the team that won 4-2 on their excursion to Bate Borisov. Wenger likes to make out he has one harmonious squad without a hierarchy but the reality of the schedule is has taken to juggling between Premier League and cup matches. He has more or less chosen different teams, resetting every department of the pitch according to the competition.
Given the lack of recovery time for those who arrived back from Belarus to London in the early hours of Friday morning to prepare for a kick-off at midday on Sunday, few of those involved in the Europa League will be called upon against Brighton. Back come the rested Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Héctor Bellerín, Nacho Monreal, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil. Wenger has not yet had the opportunity to start with a front three of Lacazette, Sanchez and Özil, but that is an option against Brighton.
The Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown is set to make his first appearance for Brighton since recovering from a hamstring injury, but the midfielder Steve Sidwell is still out after back surgery and Albion will be without the suspended Tomer Hemed.