Arsene Wenger got a pleasant surprise ahead of the showdown against Liverpool when he was named Premier League manager of the month.
Reviled by some fans as Arsenal look certain to end a seventh season without a trophy, the Frenchman has scored one up against Kop idol Kenny Dalglish who ended Liverpool’s six-year trophy drought with a League Cup triumph last Sunday.
Wenger’s Arsenal side suffered a heavy Champions League defeat by AC Milan and crashed out of the FA Cup, but were unbeaten in the league in February.
“If you had read the newspapers in the last two weeks, you must say there is a mistake. I thought they were speaking to somebody else behind me,” he said.
“It was a complete shock to me. I couldn’t understand that at all.”
But the manager of the month award is also based on league form – and Arsenal picked up 10 points from their four matches.
They drew with Bolton but followed that with wins over Blackburn, Sunderland , their FA Cup conquerors, and last weekend’s astonishing 5-2 North London derby victory over Tottenham Hotspur to climb into the top four.
Wenger’s 12th manager of the month award is testimony to the resilience of Arsenal who got off to the worst possible start to the season when they were handed an 8-2 mauling by Manchester United.
The wily Frenchman is now hopeful that victory against Carling Cup winners Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday lunchtime can boost chances of an unlikely turnaround against Milan in next week’s second leg.
“We know that in the Champions League we have a massive score against us,” he said. “But, if we get a good result at Liverpool I think we have a chance.
“For us it’s important to confirm the game we played against Tottenham at Liverpool and then we can focus completely on the Champions League and have a real go.
“What we did in Milan was just not what we do usually in the Champions League and I am sure we’ll see a different Arsenal on Tuesday.
“In the Champions League at home we can score goals, we know that. For us now it’s important for us to go with big belief into the Milan game.”
