I was always a firm believer growing up of "ABC - Adversity Builds Character".
As I gained more experience and insight as a coach, I realized that it wasn't that "Adversity Builds Character" as much as Adversity 'Reveals' Character.
Thrust into situations with your back against the wall, in a scenario where you have to produce or you have lost, you tend to find out a lot about the people who are around you. It's the adage about soldiers 'knowing who's with you in a foxhole'.
Knowing this, I believe that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger found out quite a bit about the players he is sharing a foxhole with after their heroic victory over Roma in penalty kicks. A lot has been made about their young and inexperience team that might lack depth in comparison to Manchester United or Chelsea, but goalkeeper Manuel Almunia refutes that, as reported by ANTONY KASTRINAKIS of the Sun.
Almunia said: “This kind of game can give you two years of maturity in one evening. I think some players gained a lot of experience from it."
“From now on I think they will realise they can be big players, they can be important in Europe and we can face any team in Europe."
“We believe we can win the trophy and the young players will have taken a lot of belief from this."
“We have a lot of talented players but you also need confidence, belief and the right mental attitude."
“We have been questioned this season over our mental attitude because we haven’t shown enough character or mental strength."
“But we have young players and they can give more and they have given more now."
“We are getting stronger, players are coming back at the right time and we can give the fans what they deserve this season."
“They deserve a trophy and we want to give them something back. Arsenal is a great club and we believe we can do something great this season.”
Questions about Arsenal's depth are being answered by the return of mended players like Eduardo and Theo Walcott, while Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor are almost ready to play again.
Confidence is high right now among Arsenal's players, and believing you can be successful is half the battle.
“Playing in Roma, with so many people in the stadium and going 1-0 down in the ninth minute is not easy," said Almunia. “All the players have a right to be confident now because we have shown that we can do it in Rome.”
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