Source: Team_Talk
AW: Squillaci makes right impression
Arsene Wenger feels "leader" Sebastien Squillaci can provide an experienced head in Arsenal's defence as they look to shut out Manchester City.[LNB] With Thomas Vermaelen still battling to recover from an Achilles problem which has sidelined the Belgian since the international break in September and summer recruit Laurent Koscielny out because of a back injury, the 30-year-old will again be the senior partner alongside Swiss centre-half Johan Djourou at Eastlands on Sunday.[LNB]French international Squillaci has settled quickly into the hustle and bustle of top-flight English football, having jumped at the chance of a £6million move from Sevilla just before the transfer window closed.[LNB]He scored his first goal for the Gunners in their 3-1 Champions League win at Partizan Belgrade last month and Wenger is in no doubt about the influence the veteran has provided.[LNB]"Squillaci is a leader," the Arsenal manager said. "He is a quiet one, but he speaks a lot when you observe the game - he speaks to the midfielders, to Johan a lot, to the full-backs.[LNB]"He has a quiet, reassuring presence at the back."[LNB]Squillaci played in the 2004 Champions League final for Monaco against Jose Mourinho's Porto and was also part of Les Bleus' World Cup disaster.[LNB]The veteran defender feels Wenger can help add another dimension to his game.[LNB]"He is hugely respected in the world of football, and it is great to be able to work with a manager like him," Squillaci said.[LNB]"Even if I am 30, I still want to improve and with him I will do that. It is very important for me.[LNB]"It is a different style of play to the Spanish league. I am working hard at training to cope with the physical aspect."[LNB]Squillaci added: "We are playing an offensive game, so we need to stay strong at the back.[LNB]"We have played good games and others not so good, so we are working hard in training to become stronger at the back."[LNB]Arsenal face another stern test of their title credentials against City, whose owners have bankrolled an unprecedented spending spree in an attempt to become the dominant force in the Premier League.[LNB]The Gunners went down 2-0 at leaders Chelsea before the last international break, but had created chances at Stamford Bridge.[LNB]Wenger believes getting themselves ahead tomorrow could prove crucial.[LNB]"Most of the big games are not decided by defending, they are decided most of the time by the first goal," he said.[LNB]"At the top level the team that scores first will win 62% of the time - 70% of the time the first goal scored guarantees you a draw.[LNB]"That means 79% of the time when you score first you will not lose in a 'big' game."[LNB]Wenger continued: "When you concede the first goal what happens sometimes is you have to chase the game.[LNB]"I believe you can't survive a long time with a negative philosophy and when you are a big club your basic principles have to be wanting to win and to win with style.[LNB]"We want to defend well and we want of course to respect our principles and we want to be very efficient.[LNB]"We want to have an attacking philosophy, but we want to win with it."[LNB]Wenger has every confidence his young Gunners can get the result they want at Eastlands.[LNB]"We think we can win big games and we have a good opportunity on Sunday to show that," Wenger told Arsenal TV Online.[LNB]"We had one at Chelsea this season which we lost, but we were really unlucky and the quality we have shown in the game should encourage us to go from there and transform that into a concrete result."[LNB]
