Arsene Wenger was a very happy man after Arsenal beat Chelsea 3-0 at Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening after goals from Alexis, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil.
He was particularly pleased with the “collective connection” the team demonstrated, and this is what he said to the media afterwards:
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on the performance…
I feel, especially in the first half, we wanted to play with high pace, put them under pressure, play at a very high collective connection and speed of passing - it worked quite well. It’s one of those moments in your life as a manager where you think ‘today is a great day’. In the first half, I think it was nearly perfect. In the second half it was a bit in-and-out but in the first half, we have shown great quality. We played with style, with pace, with movement - and that’s the kind of football we want to play.
on reasons behind the performance…
I felt that in the last three weeks, our team was on the way up. Today was a good test for us to see if that’s real, if we could continue to move upwards. Would Chelsea stop our progression? Overall the quality of our performance today confirmed that we are on the way up. From the goalkeeper to the centre forward, today you cannot fault any performance. Now let’s continue to improve. There’s still room for improvement. Let’s show as well that we can defend together the style of football we want to play.
on if the first half was as good as anything in the last few years…
Coming out straight after the game, I’d be tempted to say yes, because it’s one of the games where what we wanted to do worked very well. Yes, it’s one of the best performances in recent years.
on whether he is as optimistic and hungry as he was 20 years ago…
I’m hungrier. Because I know I have not 20 years in front of me. As well because I feel more the responsibility, you’re not 20 years somewhere and you don’t care about things. I’m more conscious of what Arsenal is all about, so I think the weight of keeping people happy and making people happy is heavier than when I arrived.
on the wait for another title…
It [ending the winless streak against Chelsea] was relevant for us because it helps us to win a big game. Between winning a big game and winning the Premier League is a long way to go. At the moment Man City looks to be well in front, but if we can maintain our performances and the quality of our performances and be consistent we might have a chance.
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