Pks : WBA 3-4 Arsenal (1-1)
Wengers reacts
on being proud of his side…
I am because we played with many young players and they have shown that not only are they good football players but they can fight as well. The penalties were a bit of a lottery but overall I think the most important thing for me is we played well during the game and the young players came out and showed they can play in the style we want to play.
on deciding the penalty takers…
First of all they were the players who had not played for two hours and they were fresh, everybody else had cramps so you take in the end what’s left and they coped well with it.
on a big ask for young players to take penalties…
Yes but sometimes technically it’s not the most difficult, it’s more about dealing with the pressure.
on the experience for the players..
It’s good to know you can win even when you think you are dead and tired but if you dig deep until the end you are rewarded. That’s a very important lesson for a young player because that will happen to them again. That was the most important thing about tonight. We kept going forward and tried to win the game until the end and that is very positive as well.
on playing the young players in the next round…
Honestly I don’t know yet because it depends on the injuries. Tonight I had no choice but to rotate because many senior players are out.
on the fans’ reception to Nicklas Bendtner…
The fans were absolutely fantastic. Even when West Brom came back to 1-1 they encouraged us and they encouraged Nicklas. Overall I think he had a good game for a guy who has not played for such a long time on his own up front. He did very well.
on Bendtner’s chance…
He took too much time. What happened to him is what happens to many strikers when they have too much time to score. Wait and wait and then wait for too long but overall I think his game was positive.
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