Diaby hails mental strength

Gunners ace feels Chelsea defeat helped club improve mentally

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 4th January 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Diaby hails mental strength

Diaby: Confident

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Abou Diaby insists Arsenal have the mental strength to maintain their challenge for the Premier League this season.

The Gunners host Bolton on Wednesday knowing three points can take them above Manchester United into second and one point behind leaders Chelsea.

Despite their positive position in the league many still doubt whether Arsene Wenger's men are capable of sustaining their challenge for a whole season.

The 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium at the end of November seemed to confirm the critics' belief that the Gunners were still some way short of becoming serious title contenders, but Diaby believes the heavy loss has galvanised the squad.

Since the defeat to Carlo Ancelotti's men Arsenal are unbeaten in six league games, winning five, including a 2-1 success against Liverpool at Anfield.

Quality

"We have the quality to beat every team and when we lost to Chelsea it was very frustrating, but we have won games since then and that is the most important thing," he said.

"We showed that mentally we are strong because we had big games, but we kept winning."

Although missing Alex Song to the African Cup of Nations, Wenger is confident his side can take all three points against managerless Bolton, especially after their 2-1 win over West Ham in the FA Cup on Sunday.

"We know Bolton will be a big game," he highlighted.

"We will prepare well and be up for it. The victory at West Ham will help us believe we can do it again."