Wenger´s Arsenal in top shape for next fortnight

Arsene Wenger insists Arsenal could not be in better shape ahead of a frantic fortnight which will define their season.

The Gunners notched a comfortable 2-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday to tighten their grip on fourth place in the Premier League, although the real benefit for Wenger lay in seeing his side maintain their impressive recent momentum ahead of three decisive matches.

The first, the away leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Villarreal, is looming large on Tuesday, while Arsenal also have the return against Villarreal in London on April 15 and their encounter with Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals on April 18.

Defeat in any could prove fatal to the club’s hopes of winning silverware for the first time since 2005 but Wenger’s side is beginning to recapture some of its old swagger, their struggles of mid-winter long forgotten.

Arsenal are now unbeaten in 17 Premier League games – by far the best sequence in England’s top flight – even if it has come too late to resuscitate the club’s title challenge – and Villarreal’s scouts will have had plenty to ponder on their journey back to Spain.

“I have always believed in the team because they have mental strength and great quality,” Wenger said. “We are in a good state of mind and now we need to perform on the day because you have to be at your best to get a result in Spain.

“But we have focus, belief and commitment now and I am delighted with how we are playing. Perhaps if we had won two more games instead of drawing them, we could have been challenging for the title but the other teams could maybe say that as well.

“But it shows that when a team is young, they can improve and they are showing that now. We’re not the same team that was playing earlier in the season – we are playing with a lightness and without any handbrake, which I enjoy very much.”

Wenger’s confidence is well-founded, especially as he can now draw upon this squad’s full resources. Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor both made impressive returns from long-term injuries against City, with the latter benefiting from two sublime assists from the Spaniard to notch his first goals since January.

With Theo Walcott also returning from a knee problem and Wenger cautiously optimistic over the possibility of Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri playing a part at Villarreal, Arsenal’s prospects suddenly appear as sunny as London’s balmy weather on Saturday.

Wenger’s good mood will surely be tempered by the realisation that Villarreal, while largely unfancied outside Spain, will still pose a far sterner test to his side than City, who endured yet another miserable day on their travels.

If failure to add to their solitary away league win was not enough, manager Mark Hughes also had to contend with

injuries to Wayne Bridge and Vincent Kompany (both hamstring) which are likely to rule them out of the UEFA Cup quarter-final first leg with Hamburg on Thursday.

Stephen Ireland is also unlikely to feature, leaving Hughes desperately short of options as he prepares to confront the Bundesliga high-fliers.

“At home we’ve been excellent this season, away from home not so,” Hughes reflected. “We have generally been too open away from home although that wasn’t the case against Arsenal, when we just didn’t have enough presence on the pitch. We gave the ball away too easily and we need to be better on Thursday.”