Marseille 1-2 Arsenal
Two goals in the second half gave the win to the Gunners in a difficult game maked by a strong Marseille side unable to score during its momentum. Arsenal stayed calm to go back to London with three points and plenty of confidence.
Arsenal coach – Wenger reacts:
on the game…
Marseille had a very good first half but we didn’t make big mistakes at the back and were patient enough to win it in the second half. I felt we were a bit within ourselves in the first half, a bit timid, and Marseille were more mobile and first on the ball. They dropped in the second half and we took advantage of our strong moments. That got us three very important points.
on Aaron Ramsey…
Honestly, I didn’t expect him to score so many goals. He’s especially improved in his passing, his technical quality. He was always in good positions in the box, but scoring is a bit cyclic. You have periods when it goes in and others when it doesn’t. For me the most important thing is the quality of his game.
on Marseille…
I knew Marseille would be difficult. I think the only the people that don’t think Marseille can make it tough for us is people from Marseille.
on Ozil and Wilshere’s impact…
I felt we didn’t change sides enough in the first half and didn’t find Jack or Ozil enough. But Marseille defended very well and stopped us from playing through the lines. We didn’t go in enough behind and overall there was not enough purpose in our game. I insisted more on that at half-time.
on Ramsey being one of the most in-form midfielders in Europe…
I don’t know if anybody is playing better. For me, I don’t look at it like that. Aaron is playing well and that is most important, so is that he continues to improve. I thought it would be a tricky game here tonight. Before the game I was conscious Marseille would be well focussed. They know they are not favourites, they had nothing to lose and the French are dangerous when they are in that position. I knew it was important to get three points here if we want to have a chance. I said yesterday we needed 10 points at least so to start with three is good.
on 10 successive away wins…
We always try to win and it has worked in recent months. We played many away games where you expect us to be in a position where we can win the game. But what is interesting is the consistency we have shown and that creates belief.
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