Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea
ARSENAL – Arsene Wenger on the result…
We were disappointed because we wanted to win but we didn’t manage to score.
on whether Arsenal did enough to win…
I think we did enough to win the game today and Chelsea defended well. I felt that we played with the right intensity in the first half. We dropped that in the second half and came back to the right level in the last 20 minutes. We could have finished the game off. Ozil had a good chance in the final minute of the game but they came to defend well, did it well and everybody knows that.
on whether Chelsea are worthy champions…
They are not champions yet but they will be, and you get what you deserve. They started the season strong and they made the difference in the first half of the season compared to us.
on whether Arsenal can close the gap…
We have closed it since the start of the season. What happened is that they had the experience at the back, they could close the game down. We lacked freedom of mind today. Maybe we were too conscious of their counter-attacking and didn’t play with enough freedom in the final third. We made some wrong decisions.
on whether Arsenal’s record against Chelsea affected the players…
It’s always difficult to know that straight away after the game. In the dangerous situations we created in the first half, what we usually do – the decisions are quick and sharp – and today the decisions in the final ball were not always right. All the build-up was very good, very quick, but the final ball wasn’t there.
on Arsenal’s confidence…
We want to finish this season well and when you look at the other results – I watched Aston Villa against Manchester City, and today Manchester United – every game is difficult. We need to absolutely keep focused until the end of the game, and then we can see what we can do next season. Let’s finish well. We have a strong end now. We go to Hull and then we want to secure top four before the FA Cup final because that battle is not done yet. After that, we can look at the top three or the top two. It’s all to do now.
CHELSEA – Jose Mourinho on the game..
“I think everyone expected us to come and sit like we did with Man U, but we came and gave it a go. It was end to end a little bit, probably a bit too much. We were more in control in the second half – we kept the ball more which I think will please the manager.
Arsenal are a very good side, that’s why they are up there fighting. They have been in great form lately as well with some world-class players. We nullified them. They are very good on the ball so it was two blocks. At the same time we were ready to go at them, and you could see that with Oscar threatening in behind.”
‘We are very happy. We know that a draw is not a bad result. We came to win, obviously, but we are happy with the point. It was a difficult game as we expected.
‘I think it’s a big step towards where we want to go. It’s still not done mathematically, it’s still possible for other teams to catch us but it’s a big step.
arsenal.com /chelseafc.com
