Arsenal tied Sundeland 0- o for Premier League debut at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal’s coach Arsene Wenger shares his thoughts on the game:
on a frustrating result…
We played with a good spirit. We were serious, we put the effort in. Our basic fitness is alright but we lack sharpness and fluency at the moment to be dangerous in the final third. The few chances we had, we couldn’t convert them. Sunderland always play the same way against us, in the final third and defensively, and if you’re not sharp enough to make the difference early in the game it becomes difficult. They defended well, they defended the whole game very well, and we lacked something – sharpness and also quality and accuracy in the final pass.
on bedding in new players…
Of course [that makes a difference too]. The formula didn’t work with three strikers up front and we were not well balanced, we didn’t create enough because they blocked our midfield. After that it was difficult for us. We need to be more creative in the final third.
on Santi Cazorla…
I think it’s difficult not to be pleased with him because he played on Wednesday night, the whole game in Puerto Rico. All the chances were created by him, basically.
on why the Club agreed terms to sell Song…
Because we have Wilshere coming back, I believe in one and a half months. We have Diaby back, we have Rosicky not far away and we might bring another midfielder in as well. You have to be patient a little bit [over any new signings].
on players leaving at their peak…
It is frustrating, we have learnt to deal with that. I believe as well that the financial potential of some clubs is massive and that makes a difference.
on replacing Robin van Persie’s goals…
Maybe people are right [that he would have made a difference], maybe they are wrong – you can never check that. We have played some draws at home with Van Persie, we have lost some games with Van Persie as well. It’s true that last year in every game he found something special. I never denied that we lost a world-class player, that is very difficult to replace.
I feel that Podolski is not [physically] ready yet but he has the quality, and Giroud you could see has a presence when he is on the pitch in this position. Man United looked everywhere, if they didn’t buy anybody else and went for Van Persie at 29 years of age, it’s because they realised that quality is difficult to find on the market.
on Giroud’s chance…
Giroud had a great chance on his right foot. I think he had more time than he thought and we expected him to score that one, of course.
on getting the balance right up front…
In some games it works, in some not. We went for a different formula last year and the balance is not always right, but in this game today we needed maybe one more creative player to be a bit more accurate in the final third. There was not a lot of space left to our strikers, everything had to be created from our midfield.
on whether Song asked to leave…
He expressed a desire to go to Barcelona.
on a missed opportunity against Sunderland…
Of course. It is always frustrating in the game when you have so much possession and so little points. You have to calculate that you make a draw or two or three during a season, but you don’t want to make it at the start in the first game. I personally prefer to play away in the first game.
on showing patience after Van Persie’s departure…
I feel that when you are on the football pitch, you don’t think about the players who are not there. You try to make a good pass when you have the ball, all the rest is not a valid excuse. We had the opportunity to play the ball quicker, our overall passing was not quick enough today in my opinion. That is not necessarily linked with Robin.
on Nicklas Bendtner…
He is likely to move, yes. There is no deal done at all.
