Arsenal 1-1 Everton
Coach Arsene Wenger speaks to the press after the draw:
on his view of the game…
Look it was a good game and Everton played well. Overall it took us time to get into the game and in the first 25 minutes Everton started stronger than us. After that we had still three one against one with the keeper in the first half. And that’s the regret I have because we didn’t take our chances very well. The other regret I have is of course that we are caught back after being 1-0 up with seven minutes to go. But you have to give credit to Everton, they continued to play well and they always looked dangerous. We played against a very good side, in the end we’re a bit disappointed to get caught back with a 1-0 result but overall it’s still a point.
on Everton’s goal…
I think he [Lukaku] was offside and he made a foul on the goal. Personally. But the referee didn’t give it, it doesn’t mean that we have to concede after.
on Everton’s approach in the first half…
I believe the problem is that they put good pressure on us when we got the ball back to stop our flow. We had problems to get into the flow of the game. But I just feel when we got out of the pressure and got into the passing, they stopped us every single time with a foul. I believe the disadvantage of putting the pressure so high is that if you’re not winning the ball back you can be outnumbered after that. To just make a foul without being punished by the referee is a huge advantage because after that you play 10 against 10 in one half again.
on the referee’s performance…
He had a good game I must say but it’s not only that. I think overall maybe it’s a new problem for the referees, because everybody puts pressure on the opponents high up and with the condition if they don’t win the ball back to make a foul.
on Mesut Ozil’s performance…
I personally would just congratulate Ozil. For me he had an outstanding game.
on the points difference compared to this time last year…
Life can change from one year to the next. That’s good. It can even change from one week to the next in our game so it’s good. I think it was a quality game for the neutrals and between two good teams who have shown consistency until now and an absolutely fantastic attitude. That’s why we are different to last season. We are as well a better team, more stable defensively and dangerous offensively. But overall you could see today with the toughness of the game we have to prepare ourselves for a battle in every single game.
on being serious title contenders…
It depends what you call serious. As long as we are five points ahead you cannot rule ourselves out even with the best desire. So let’s keep that cushion. It shows you that it will be a tough Premier League and the consistency in the end will be rewarded. The consistency for us is down to us to keep this attitude until the end of the season.
on what consistency gives them…
It gives us belief. Consistency in the results strengthen your belief. You could see with Everton today, had they lost 5-0 at Old Trafford they would not have played like that. They just won 1-0 at Old Trafford and they came here with nothing to lose, they are a good team and you could see that kind of influence the confidence has.
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