LONDON, April 15- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits not even he could have predicted his side’s stunning run of form following eight successive Premier League victories.
The Gunners’ top-four aspirations looked to have taken an unsalvageable blow at the beginning of February after they went down 2-1 to bitter rivals Tottenham to sit outside of the Champions League qualifying positions.
However, the north London giants bounced back in style and are currently Europe’s in-form team, with Saturday’s 1-0 win over Burnley making it eight on the trot for Wenger, the first time the club have achieved such a run since their ‘Invincibles’ campaign of 2004.
“I always hope to get the best out of my team, but no manager in the world if he is serious can predict a run like this. In the Premier League it’s very difficult to predict,” the Frenchman told his club’s official website.
“It’s down to the quality of the attitude of the team, the quality of the spirit we have in the side.
“We prepare [well], we prepare and contribute to our success, that is for sure. What people forgot is that we had big players out for four months this season. Six or seven players from the squad completely out. So that made a big difference.
“We have a better balance in the team and some players have made it like Coquelin, who contributes to the balance of the team. Hector Bellerin as well has come into the team.
“And big players like Koscielny, like Ozil, like Giroud have been out four months in the season – four months the three together!
“I have a quality bench and we even have quality players at home like Chamberlain, Arteta, Wilshere. I didn’t even try [to play] Debuchy. We have a big squad and I think we have quality. Let’s see how we finish the season and after see how we do next season.”
