Almunia praises team spirit, accepts criticism

Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia has praised the way him and his team mates bounced back from two heavy defeats and got three points against another top four side.

Arsenal beat Liverpool 1-0 earlier in the week, after seeing themselves slip further behind in the title race following 3-1 and 2-0 defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea respectively.

The players had come under heavy criticism from the fans, with some bemoaning the fact that manager Arsène Wenger had failed strengthen the squad in the January transfer window. Most of this criticism however, has been levelled at Almunia himself, whom many believe is not fit to wear the number one jersey at the club.

Almunia said: "We were talking about our last two games. We said to each other that it is not possible not to show character on the pitch. It is not possible for a team who want to be top of the table.

"From the dressing room before the game, everyone was switched on to the game and personally I am happy with the character of the team.

"We accept all the critics. Arsenal is a big club and we deserve to be criticised because we have been playing for many years without fighting for the title.

"Critics are good sometimes and we accept them. The team is growing up and everybody accepts it because we cannot say anything when we don't play well. We just go home and wait for the next game so we can win.

"Against United we were not on our game at any time. Against Chelsea we played well I thought but as soon as we switched off a bit, we lost. There are small points we need to improve, not technically or tactically but personally - little things that we have to show more.

"Every team will complain after they lost. Manchester and Chelsea will be not happy and in a few games they will come back. They will say they can win their next game and we top of the table.

"Every team has to improve. After the Manchester and Chelsea games, they showed they were better than us, but when they play against Everton and Aston Villa they were at the same level. We have to believe it."

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