FA Cup – Arsenal 2-0 Hull City
Coach Arsene Wenger comments on the win…
I believe we had a serious performance. We were in control and it was a positive game. We created many chances and it took us a while until the 82nd minute to get the second goal but overall I think we had a serious, positive and good collective performance.
on Alexis Sanchez…
He always looked dangerous. He took the corner, he scored a goal and he gave a good chance to Oxlade-Chamberlain. He’s lively and always dangerous with his change of direction, his incisiveness and how penetrative he is. He’s interesting to watch because he has a good fighting spirit. He has a good combination of what you want to see from top players – that means that he is ready for a fight and also has talent.
on whether he was tempted to rest him…
I was tempted. Giroud was still suspended today and I knew that it was an important game for us. In the end, he always feels ready.
on Alexis almost being superhuman…
I hope [he can keep his energy up for the rest of the season]. There’s no reason. You look at the players who have that confidence – you’re torn between the fact that when the player’s confident and keeping him playing, and giving him a rest. I feel that when the players are confident it’s important to keep them going, especially when they have that physical potential. He recovers very quickly and we’ll see. At the moment he doesn’t look in our tests like he has any fatigue problem.
on Francis Coquelin…
I think he’s a satisfaction over the Christmas period. Francis has done well in all the three games he’s played over the Christmas period. He’s matured a lot and he’s very strong in the fight. I would say I have a very positive impression of his last three games.
on whether any midfielders could return next week…
Mathieu Flamini could be back, Aaron Ramsey has a little chance. Nobody else.Mikel Arteta will be longer. I think Flamini should be available for selection and maybe Ramsey has a little chance to be back.
on Theo Walcott…
There were some positive signs because he was dangerous. You could see that he has not lost the quality of his runs and he looked dangerous. He lacks a little bit of competition and is not used to challenges but that will come. He has been out for a year. For what he has done after being out for a year, it’s quite positive.
on Per Mertesacker…
He has done well. Per’s played many games like Alexis, if you look at the number of games he played. We suffered at Southampton at the back but it was not only Per – as a unit at the back we did not have a good performance. Honestly, I analysed this Christmas period a bit and we played on December 21, 28 and January 1 away from home. I looked at all the teams that played the 28th and the 1st away from home. That means the two consecutive games, none of the teams won. Nobody. We had three away games out of four and I think we took more points than anyone else, even if we were very disappointed at Southampton. In the schedule over Christmas, nobody won on December 28 and January 1.
on only scoring twice…
The reason is sometimes the quality of the opponents. Sometimes, the keeper, sometimes the fact that you don’t make the right decisions. It looks like we can score goals. From now on until May, it’s more important to get the strong defensive stability. I’m not worried too much about scoring goals because we always look like we can create something at any moment. Of course, it’s a bit cyclical sometimes. You create three chances, you score three goals, whereas sometimes you create six and you score once. We create chances.
on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain…
It’s just a knock, he should be alright.
on Yaya Sanogo…
Yaya is here at the moment. Sanogo needs more experience at the top level in the Premier League. He’s ready to play but we have so many options up front that it’s difficult to play.
on whether Bordeaux is an option…
Personally, I said that many times I prefer the Premier League. That’s still the case.
Arsenal confirmed today the 29-year-old forward Lucas Podolski has scored 31 goals in 82 appearances for Arsenal since arriving from Cologne in the summer of 2012. This term, he has made two starts and 11 substitute outings for the Gunners, netting three times.
www.arsenal.com
