• Arsenal left-back says next game can be new start
• Clichy admits they did not play well against Chelsea
Gaël Clichy has refused to rule Arsenal out of the title race despite the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea which leaves Arsène Wenger’s team nine points behind the Premier League leaders, and said their challenge must restart at the Emirates on Wednesday.
“Let’s work on it, next we play against a good side in Liverpool,” said Clichy. “It’s going to be difficult but we have to do it because if we want to be the best, we have to compete. We have to think game after game and it starts with Liverpool. We have to think one game at a time but the less we lose, the better it will be.
“The rule in sport is when you want to be the best, after every defeat you have to ask the right questions to yourself and the team. You have to go again and dig in. That is what we are going to start doing again in training because it is only with hard work and a bit of luck that things can happen. Maybe then we can go somewhere.”
Reflecting on the defeat at Stamford Bridge, the French left-back said: “It is even more complicated now to win the league but we have to keep fighting. We have seen everyone can drop points against anyone. Of course, it would have been better to win [against Chelsea] and against Manchester United, but that is the way it is. We need to be more decisive in the right moments and the best thing to do is to carry on fighting.
“Its not going to be easy, but it is not finished. We were 11 points behind [after Chelsea defeated Arsenal 3-0 in late November] and came back so we have to hope they drop points and make sure we don’t drop any points.”
The defeat to United came at the Emirates the week before last, when Arsenal enjoyed possession yet failed to produce an attacking threat. Against Chelsea they were again unable to convert pressure into goals, which is a prevailing criticism of the Frenchman’s side.
But while Wenger claimed the better team had lost, yesterday Clichy contradicted his manager’s view.
“You cannot say you played well when you lose 2-0 but we tried everything. We pushed hard today but we lost and it is hard to take. It is always difficult to play against Chelsea because even if you have the ball and you feel like you are playing better than them, they let you play but they have a strong striker up front in [Didier] Drogba, who can play alone for the 90 minutes,” he said.
ArsenalLiverpoolChelseaPremier LeagueJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk
