Borussia Dortmund 0-1 Arsenal
Arsene Wenger speaks after the huge win sealed by Ramsey at the 66′
on the result…
We had a united, focused performance, especially defensively. I must say Dortmund put us under huge pressing. We had a lot of possession but it was a bit sterile possession in the first half because we could not create chances. It was a question of being focused, intelligent and not to make the first mistake, to wait for the moment where we could create openings in their defence. We did that. We had a difficult period at start of second half. After we scored I felt we could have scored a second goal and we were less under pressure. Overall it’s a huge win here. If you look at the results they have made at home in the Champions League, not many teams have achieved that. Overall the whole team has shown a huge solidarity to get through difficult moments of the game.
on this win being better than Munich…
Maybe because there was more stake tonight. People think that maybe [Bayern] Munich took it a bit easy, which I did not think at the time, but it was true they had beaten us 3-1 at home and maybe in their head had already qualified. Tonight both teams had to win and I must say we had to win even more because we lost at home and knew we had to go to Dortmund and Naples. So we needed a win tonight – even a draw was not good enough.
on Ramsey…
He just shows how difficult it is to have assessment on players because one year ago everyone said ‘yes, but Ramsey cannot score goals. He’s in box in the right positions, but he can’t score’. This season he scores game after game. I was always positive with him because when you watched the games again he was always in situations where he could be dangerous. This season he has gained confidence and he has an unbelievable engine to go from box to box. Confidence and his ability of course makes him a dangerous player.
on the orchestra v heavy metal…
We were light metal. We looked more stable defensively because we have experience in midfield not to lose the ball in stupid positions. Dortmund are especially dangerous when you lose the ball – to counter that, you need maturity. If you have a very young team tonight you would be overrun and lose that game by a high score. We look more stable defensively.
on where this game ranks Arsenal in Europe…
I don’t know, we won against a very good team tonight. I have a lot of respect for Dortmund because they are a very good side. Unfortunately this group is a very strong group, and one of the big teams will have to pay a heavy price. I hope it will not be us, but of course this is a huge result.
on the message this sends out at home, in Europe and to the players…
It just hope that it strengthens the belief of my team that we can put another great performance in. You know we have another massive game on Sunday, and we want that kind of performance again.
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