Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool

Wenger reacts after a convincing win over Liverpool, responding to critics following the 0-2 home loss to Chelsea in Cup. They have now 5 points clear over Liverpool and Chelsea.

on comparisons between Ramsey and Fabregas…
They are different type of players, completely different types. Aaron Ramsey is playing well, but the whole team… you cannot single anybody out today because the whole team played well. Our defensive performance was outstanding. We kept Sturridge, Suarez, Gerrard and then Coutinho and even Moses quiet. I think our defenders deserve a lot of credit as well.

on responding to the Chelsea defeat…
We needed to respond today. The Chelsea game was an important game but not of the importance of today’s game. But still, it was a disappointment and it was important to respond today, to convince people that we can win these big games. To win it in a convincing way is even more important.

on keeping the momentum going…
I am always confident, but of course there is a long way to go. Today was an important win for the team, for the club, and overall nobody would dispute that we deserved to win this game. It was vital to win, I said that before the game and I don’t change my mind, because had we not won people would say ‘yes, Arsenal at home they cannot win the big games’. It is done, in a convincing way. We had a good solidarity, a good focus, and I believe we have plenty of other big games coming up and this will help us deal well with them.

on Chelsea losing…
Yes, it is unpredictable because who would have said that Chelsea would lose today at Newcastle after Tuesday night? But that’s the Premier League and it’s down to consistency. I said we are consistent since the 1st of January 2013, with the same group. We have shown since our massive blip against Aston Villa, that we have been very consistent. We have 10 games, 25 points. It is a respectable number of points. We go from game to game, we have Dortmund on Wednesday, it is another big game, we are in a position where we want absolutely a result. This win puts us mentally in a better condition.

on the improvements in defence…
First of all players know each other better, the players have improved individually and collectively as well because we work with each other. Tactically we dealt well with what Liverpool offered us today in the first half. We stopped them from playing and overall we are defensively a better team.

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