"We just played game by game and we were winning a lot but obviously and eventually when we had to perform in certain games, we were failing," Bacary Sagna told the 'In Lockdown' podcast when asked to comment on Arsenal losing the title race in the 2010-11 season, as cited by the club's official website.
"Maybe it was because we put too much pressure on ourselves.
"Most of the games we had to play, we played well and we won. But for example when we had to play against the top four, we found it difficult to play against them at that time.
"I believe we under-evaluated ourselves. Maybe in our heads, they [Chelsea players] were bigger players than us.
"On the pitch, we had as much quality as they had whenever we played, and when we played the Arsenal way nobody could beat us.
"I believed nobody could beat us. We used to play simple passes, one, two-touches maximum. But I believe we under-evaluated ourselves which is a big mistake in life."
At one point of that season, Arsenal were within one point of league leaders and eventual champions Manchester United. However, the club went into a disastrous run of form in the spring, resulting in a fourth-place finish.
A bit earlier than that, Patrice Evra made his infamous 'my babies' remark about Arsenal, saying that the Gunners lacked the mental strength to compete with United.
This is what sets the Invincibles team from later Arsenal squads. As Thierry Henry revealed, the Gunners fought a lot in training during the record-breaking 2003-04 season but these clashes forged the culture of winning.
Mikel Arteta seems to understand the problem and tries to solve it. From the very beginning of his time as Arsenal boss, the Spaniard has discussed the necessity to change the players' mentality and the way he tries to convince them to follow his ideas.
