Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger believes his table-topping side are yet to reach their peak.
The Gunners face Slavia Prague in the Champions League on Tuesday night, looking to extend their winning streak to twelve games.
The North London side have already beaten Sevilla and Steaua Bucharest in Europe this season and a win against Slavia would bring them within touching distance of a place in the last sixteen.
Domestically, Arsenal are also flying high, having dropped just two points in their opening nine fixtures in the Premier League this season, a run that sees them top of the tree, two points clear of Champions Manchester United with a game in hand.
But despite their exemplary record so far in the 2007-08 season, Wenger believes there is still room for improvement.
'We can be more efficient,' he said at Monday's press conference. 'We can improve our movement and I feel our conversion rate can be better with the chances we create. We will not always have five or six chances in the big games for one goal. In the big games you need 'one chance, one goal' or 'two chances, one goal'. Also we can be more compact with our lines so we can improve in many aspects. I feel that this team is at 80 per cent of its potential. For us to improve now, it is down to our mentality, humility and attitude. At the start of the season I thought we needed to win to give confidence and belief to the team because we did not have a lot. It was important to have a good start. Now the test is how we put in consistent performances and how well we deal with big games. We have two big teams [coming up] now. I am confident we will do very well, but these are the tests. However we have already played Blackburn and Man City who are doing well, so we have not only had easy games.'
02 October 2007
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned his players against complacency ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash with Steaua Bucharest.
The Gunners have started the season in impressive fashion and prepare to take on the Romanian side on the back of an eight-match winning run in all competitions.
But Wenger has urged his players to concentrate on the task in hand by warning that silverware cannot be won in the opening months of the season.
"At the moment, it is superficial," he said, referring to their form.
"We have played a few games and done well, but we have not achieved anything. Any team in the league can do that. We are nowhere. We are in a position of fighting with Manchester United and Manchester City. We all prefer to say 'well done' but that is not enough. A real team must achieve something together. We are a team who are miles away from having done that."
However, the Frenchman believes his players are 'maturing' into a stronger unit.
"I think we have matured a little bit and play a bit more efficient now," he said.
"It's like the life of your team. They start all enthusiastic and play, after that they go to a level where there is a good balance between being efficient but still playing and then they go to a level where they are only efficient."
01 October 2007
Emmanuel Adebayor has been declared fit to face Steaua Bucharest while Alexander Hleb has travelled with the rest of the Arsenal squad.
Adebayor has been struggling with a minor thigh injury but has been declared fit for the clash against the Romanian outfit on Tuesday night, much to the relief of Arsene Wenger.
"When we played against Sevilla people said it was a test game," the striker revealed. "For me there are no test games. We just go out and try to win."
Meanwhile, it looked as though Hleb was definitely out after taking a heavy whack to his leg during Saturday's 1-0 victory against West Ham but it has now been revealed he is the squad that has travelled.
Abou Diaby (ankle) and Mathieu Flamini (groin) will face late fitness tests, while Jens Lehmann (elbow), captain William Gallas (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring), Eduardo (groin) and Alex Song (calf) are all out.
01 October 2007
Arsenal's Belarus international midfielder Aleksandr Hleb is likely to miss the Champions League Group H match at Steaua Bucharest on Tuesday after suffering a leg injury against West Ham United.
Hleb was injured in a collision with West Ham's Mark Noble on Saturday and the extent of the bruising shocked Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger.
"If it was an accident, it is a very bad accident, because if you see his leg it is unbelievable," he told the club's Web site (www.arsenal.com).
"It is red and bruised from the knee down to the toes. We are quite optimistic because, for me, Noble is usually a fair player. I don't know if it was an accident or not, but he caught him very well."
But Wenger doubted whether Hleb would be fit to face the Romanians.
"I don't think Hleb will play on Tuesday because he cannot walk properly at the moment," said Wenger, whose team stayed top of the Premier League with their win at Upton Park.
Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign with a 3-0 win over Sevilla two weeks ago, while Steaua lost 2-1 at Slavia Prague.
01 October 2007
Arsenal young gun Justin Hoyte has declared the London club are equipped to win the Premier League title.
The England Under-21 international believes Arsenal's young squad can make an impact on the domestic scene this season after having learnt from their past errors and gained experience thanks to Arsene Wenger's trust.
The versatile full back, who can play on both flanks, is convinced The Gunners are capable of continuing their impressive run until the end of the season.
The Gunners impressed again on Saturday, as they managed to earn three points at Upton Park thanks to a 1-0 win against a competitive West Ham side.
Arsenal are leaders of the league and will face Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League on Tuesday in Romania.
'I can't see why we can't go on and win the league this season,' Hoyte told a national paper.
"It depends on how focused we remain but we're playing well as a team and have a great spirit. We know our strengths and weaknesses but the scary thing is we know we are going to get better and keep on improving. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We did well last season but each year we grow a bit more experienced and develop more as individuals and as a team. We are young but everyone has plenty of Premier League and Champions League games under their belts now, which is important. And that's an awesome prospect as a player.'
Hoyte says the young guns are having a lot of fun together and have big expectations this term, but do not want to waste the points they have earned so far.
'There's a lot of excitement around the club this season. We are really enjoying ourselves,' he added.
'The type of football we've been playing has been fantastic so I think we deserve to be where we are. But we need to keep our feet on the ground. The thing is, we're desperate to not throw any points away. You can see from this season already that we are being a lot more ruthless. We are still dominating games as before but obviously the work on the training pitch about not throwing games away is finally paying off.'
The 22-year-old has hailed team-mate Cesc Fabregas, who appears to be one of the best players in Europe.
'Cesc [Fabregas] has really stepped up,' he said. 'To be fair, he was pretty amazing last season but - apart from his passing and vision - he has now added goals this term.'
