Arsenal won't fall apart again when it gets tough, says Johan Djourou

Rise and fall: Johan Djourou scores Arsenal’s second goal before it all went wrong at St James’ Park
11 April 2012

Johan Djourou today admitted Arsenal were scared of Newcastle as they fought back to earn a 4-4 draw but vowed his team-mates will not allow another capitulation in their fight to win the Premier League title.

The Gunners let slip a 4-0 lead after Djourou limped off injured and Abou Diaby had been sent off in a remarkable encounter at St James' Park last week.

But Manchester United's defeat against Wolves softened the blow as Arsenal moved within four points of the leaders ahead of tomorrow's home clash against the same opponents.

And Djourou insists they have learned their lesson following an embarrassing collapse that left manager Arsene Wenger seething.

"It was a strange match and it is hard to explain," said the defender. "I was watching the game after I went off and 22 minutes before the end it was still 4-0. So I was thinking maybe they were on a high and we became a bit scared of them because we have seen they were coming back at us.

"But even given that, we should have put the game to bed. These things shouldn't happen when you are 2-0 or 4-0 up at the break, you can think the game should be done.

"Maybe when you think it is done, you go a gear below and that is not a good thing. You should see it as a new game and start again. I think we know what happened and we don't want it to happen again.

"I think we haven't been helped by some decisions to be honest but when you are a pro, you look at yourself first - you don't want to look at the referee's performance.

"We know that we have to respond, we have another big game tomorrow. The title race is still very open so we need to go for it.

"In the misery we had a bit of joy as well - if we had won we would have been two points behind. We didn't but United lost so the gap is now four points and they have some tough fixtures to come.

"We have some tough fixtures as well but they are easier than theirs so I think at the end of this month we will see better how things are standing."

Initial reports suggested Djourou suffered a serious knee injury against Newcastle but the 24-year-old resumed training earlier this week and is expected to be fit to face Wolves.

Djourou has formed a key central defensive partnership with Laurent Koscielny during the campaign in

Thomas Vermaelen's ongoing injury absence to cap an encouraging change in fortunes after missing nearly the whole of last season following knee surgery. "I work very hard because I know that things can turn around," said Djourou.

"Football is always like that and sometimes you get injured.

"I knew I had the potential and the club kept me here so they believed it, too. I just had to keep believing in myself - it wasn't easy at the beginning when I was left out because the manager was thinking, 'He is not ready, I want to wait for him and he'll play Carling Cup games.'

"After my injury I proved it can go each way. Last time I got injured and someone came in, this time someone else got injured and I came into the team. It is good I had a chance to step up and show what I can do."

Wenger is expected to make several changes for tomorrow's match with Wednesday's Champions League clash against Barcelona in mind.

Diaby is suspended following his red card at Newcastle, while Tomas Rosicky, Emmanuel Eboue andDenilson are all set to feature.

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