Arsene Wenger has begged Arsenal not to forget that they are “good football players” as they look to end their slump at AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday.
Wenger is under increasing pressure, and has told his players to forget about their recent struggles and focus on the simple things.
“In life you forget quickly how good you are,” he told a news conference. “When you have a bad week, players change their minds about their own quality. So [it is important] not to forget that we are good football players, but as well to fix reachable targets, be practical and pragmatic.
“Focus on what you can do better, and analyse what you didn’t do well. And do not be scared too much of the consequences of a bad result but focus on pragmatic things like defending better, playing quicker.
“Doing more things together, reachable targets that can improve the team.”
Wenger confirmed that right-back Hector Bellerin will miss the game with an inflamed left knee, having trained on Wednesday but then staying in London after feeling too much pain.
“He tried, he went out, but couldn’t absorb the training session so we had to leave him behind,” Wenger said.
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