Mental strength key to ending kamikaze run, says Chambers
ARSENAL defender Calum Chambers has blamed a lapse in mental strength for the team’s alarming failure to translate a lead into three points in back-to-back fixtures.
The Gunners led Swansea on Sunday with 15 minutes remaining before two goals in the space of three minutes turned the Premier League contest on its head. That came just five days after Arsenal threw away a three-goal lead in the final half-hour to draw 3-3 at home to Anderlecht.
It left Arsenal 12 points adrift of leaders Chelsea after 11 games and manager Arsene Wenger facing renewed criticism, but Chambers believes they can rectify the errors.
“We’ve just got to stay mentally strong as a team,” said Chambers. “We’ll watch it back to learn from it and try to improve our game. That’s the only thing we can do. We all know how each other plays and we know what we need to do each game. We’ve just got to stay mentally strong throughout the game.”
While Chelsea may be out of sight, the silver lining for Wenger’s men is that their indifferent start to the season has been better than that of their rivals for a Champions League place – Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton – and Chambers expects them to return to the top four.
“I feel that we’ve got the strength to get there and it’s still early on in the season,” the 19-year-old added. “It’s always a tough place to come. They’re a strong side.”