Source: PA
Almunia accepts Arsenal criticism
Manuel Almunia maintains Arsenal have deserved their criticism - but declared the Gunners can prove the doubters wrong.
Arsene Wenger's team saw their Barclays Premier League title hopes rekindled following Wednesday night's 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium as both leaders Chelsea, beaten at Everton, and Manchester United, who drew at Aston Villa, dropped points.
While there is still plenty of hard work ahead for the Gunners to remain in contention, Wenger can take heart from his team's apparent easier run from now on - having lost to both United and Chelsea before completing the double over fourth-placed Liverpool.
Almunia - who made a fine late save, pushing Ryan Babel's strike onto the crossbar to secure all three points - accepts Arsenal have not delivered on the promise of previous campaigns, the last trophy being the 2005 FA Cup.
However, the 32-year-old Spaniard feels their time will come.
"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," said Almunia. "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."
