Arsenal on a high but Arsene Wenger is wary of a surprise from ‘fearless’ new boys

 
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James Olley4 December 2013

The reservations about Arsenal’s title pedigree run so deep among many people that almost every game offers a genuine test of their credentials.

If each Premier League game can be broadly categorised as an examination, then tonight’s encounter at Emirates Stadium can be filed under ‘expected routine home win against newly-promoted opposition’.

Hull are, of course, no pushovers, as last weekend’s 3-1 win against Liverpool suggests, and they have form on this ground having registered a famous 2-1 victory five years ago courtesy of Geovanni’s stunning strike for a team then managed by Phil Brown.

Steve Bruce’s Hull do not need the moniker ‘Tigers’ added to their name to prove their tenacity. But since September’s 3-2 win at Newcastle, they have lost all three away games in the League and Arsenal’s buoyancy indicates a repeat of recent performances should be enough to maintain or even extend their four-point lead.

However, with such expectation comes the threat of complacency. The Gunners have worked hard to forge an advantage but previous false dawns tempers belief in some quarters that they can last the distance.

Arsene Wenger is acutely aware of those pundits dismissing Arsenal’s chances despite their pre-eminence — even admitting to watching Match of the Day “if there isn’t a game on somewhere else” — but he was also keen to remind his side of the threat a newly- promoted team now pose. Wenger said: “That has changed in the last three or four years, starting with Swansea who came up and had a fantastic first season. The level of the Championship has improved because the academies produce players and they cannot all find places in the Premier League.

“They go down and when they do they raise the level. In the Premier League there are many foreign players so some of the academies’ good players have to go down, even if they are foreign. They do not go back to their country, they go to the Championship.

“They have no fear. They are very strong in the challenge and very dynamic going forward. They are very good in transition from defence to attack and on set-pieces they look strong as well.”

Arsenal have already beaten the other two promoted sides on the road this season; October’s 2-0 win at Crystal Palace came despite spirited resistance from a side that had shed their manager just three days earlier while last Saturday’s 3-0 win at Cardiff was more emphatic and offered yet another opportunity to hail Aaron Ramsey’s remarkable improvement.

At home, Arsenal will be expected to make the running but there is a togetherness about the group that Wenger believes will help them navigate almost any obstacle at present.

“I feel like all the players have done well,” said Wenger. “Of course, Ramsey has done exceptionally well because his numbers are outstanding considering the place where he plays. In every single position, our strength this season is that we really look like a team who play together.

“What hits you when we play is that we are a team and then you analyse only after that the players and you see every player is doing extremely well. I would first praise all the team.”

Arsenal are without Bacary Sagna because of a hamstring problem, with Carl Jenkinson set to deputise at right‑back.

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