Fulham 1-3 Arsenal
Arsene Wenger reacts after first win victory in Premier League
on the importance of the win against Fulham…
We had a good week because we played a tough game against Fenerbache and a good game today. We played in the way we wanted to play because we created chances. At the start of the game Szczesny made a great save but after that we feel we were always in control of the game.
on whether he was concerned about the team’s midweek excursions….
You never know how you respond to a game of that intensity. Maybe the positive result we got there helped us today. The mental side counterbalanced the fatigue. I was a bit worried when they got it back to 3-1 but overall we saw the game out well.
on Arsenal’s style of play…
We adapted our style of play a bit today but we were very dangerous every time we won the ball back. It was impressive because we had a good mixture of patience and speed in our game and that was positive today. I changed the shape of our team today because I rested Jack. We played with four defenders and six offensive players so we had to make it tighter with numbers but of course when we had the ball we were always looking dangerous.
on Podolski…
I am pleased for him because he hasn’t started much recently more because of the balance of the team than his performances. I am pleased because he plays with a lot of spirit and he can score goals. Everybody in the squad loves Lukas and I want to keep him. When a player doesn’t play he is not happy and recently he did not always start but if you look at his and Giroud’s goalscoring record it’s very good.
on Giroud’s fine form…
His second season is always better than his first one. You could see as well technically today that he was quite impressive. His physical presence up front is very important and I think he looks like he’s much more confident than last year.
on if he’ll rest players against Fenerbahce…
No. [We’ll] just try to win it on Tuesday. For us it’s important to finish the job and get the focus right. We have made a big step but it’s not over the line. Now we want to finish the job because that’s a big part of our season. The group stage of the Champions League is highly-important. I will not rest players on Tuesday night, certainly not.
on if results alter his transfer plans…
No. We will be a bit less under media pressure maybe but that will not change exactly. I know exactly what I want to do and that will not change.
on if Cabaye being left out of the Newcastle squad has anything to do with Arsenal…
No.
on if he’s made another bid for Cabaye…
No.
on if he’ll strengthen before the Fenerbahce game…
Before the Fenerbahce game? No.
on if he’ll strengthen before the weekend…
Before next weekend? It’s possible. Honestly, I’m not the only one that can decide that because the clubs who sell the players [are involved too]. We are on the market, you know that. I know we expect news from us. We will try to give you some but at the moment, nothing to announce.
on Ramsey growing in confidence…
I’m happy for that. During the transfer period, people are so much focused on who is coming in that they forget how good our players are. Somebody told me there was an interesting article somewhere in a newspaper. I personally didn’t read it so I don’t give you any guarantee but they [apparently] said “We don’t bring players in. But at the other hand, the English players don’t get the chance to play in the Premier League.” If you look at our team today, you had Jenkinson who gets a chance, you get Walcott who has started with us, you have Ramsey, you have Wilshere, you have Gibbs – all [British] players who get a chance with us. You should give us some credit for that sometimes.
