Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that his team’s 2-0 win over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium was the defining moment of their season.

Wenger’s men registered a convincing 2-0 win over the then reigning English champions in January and then went on a run of ten wins from their next 11 games. They went on to finish the season in third and qualified directly for the Champions League as a result.




The Gunners have endured a difficult record on their away trips to the title contenders in recent seasons and last season they stumbled from one poor result to another. They lost 6-3 at the Etihad, were taken apart in a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea and Liverpool handed them a 5-1 shellacking at Anfield.

The Frenchman feels that this year’s win over Manchester City was a monkey off their backs, adding that the win had positive consequences for his team.
 


“I felt that a hurdle we had to overcome was to win against a big team away from home, so to win at Manchester City was an important moment”, he was quoted as saying by his club’s site.

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“You could see the consequences afterwards. We won in the FA Cup at Manchester United in a very convincing performance, we drew 1-1 there too and that was a very important point for us to finish in the top three.

“Maybe the start of the strengthening of the team’s feeling was at Man City.

“As long as you don’t overcome a hurdle, people say, ‘Look they lost again there’. Since we have done that we have not lost a big game away from home.

“I believe the strength and cohesion of the team, and of the club, is always decided by the away results. On that front you prepare the basis of the season after and we can take a lot of strength from that.”

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