After failing to win in their last three Premier League games, Tuesday night’s match against Southampton is a huge one for Arsenal.
In the meantime, Leicester City have gone top of the table and Manchester are level on points with Arsène Wenger’s men. Even Tottenham Hotspur, just two points further back in fourth, are being mentioned as outside title rivals, so the Gunners need to start February by pointing a disappointing January behind them.
“That’s something our team does really well,” Héctor Bellerín said to the Mirror. “Every time there’s a defeat or a result that we didn’t want to have, the team always responds straight away in the next game.
“That shows the team’s character and is really important. It’s normal for big teams to lose games, especially in the Premier League, when you have such quality in every single team.”
The Gunners have already dropped points in 10 of the 23 Premier League games so far this season, but remain right in the thick of things. Leicester and Manchester City have also ‘just’ won 13 games so far. It’s been an odd season and it is unlikely to take many more than 80 points to win the title.
Forunately, Arsenal have managed to avoid losing consecutive Premier League games this season and have won three of the four games immediately after a defeat. A win against Southampton would make it four out of five.
“It’s not just about how many times you fall down, but how quick you get up and our team does it really, really quickly,” Bellerín insisted. “I’m sure we can do it against Southampton.”