I was very unhappy but overall I must say I can only praise my team. We didn't look disappointed on the pitch and we kept going. We knew that we needed a win here and we kept going to win the game. Overall I feel that they had a good team performance and they have shown great spirit. When you go 2-1 down just before half time it's difficult but we came out in the second half with a complete desire to go forward.
In the second half I felt we were much better defensively than in the first half. We gave too many chances away in the first half - it's certainly down to the fact that Chelsea have a lot going forward. But we always looked dangerous through the whole game and I hope the team strengthens its belief with a performance like that to focus on getting stronger and stronger.
on Robin van Persie…
He is of course on fire and he takes advantage through his class. We attack a lot and we create chances overall of course. The intelligence of his movement around the box and the accuracy of his finishing is exceptional.
on Laurent Koscielny's performance…
I think he was outstanding. He was the one at the back in the first half who looked strong. But I felt in the first half we gave them too much room at the back and in midfield and in the second half we got much tighter. We kept being dangerous going forward but we were less in trouble defensively.
on encouraging the team to slow down at the end…
You know how it is on the bench when you are 4-3 up with two minutes to do - you do not necessarily encourage your team to be crazy. But this is the brand of our team and our Club. Sometimes you get rewarded for it and sometimes you pay for it.
on previous Chelsea teams being so open…
I have to think about that. I think one year we won here 3-2 when Kanu scored two goals and we were 2-1 down. It depends on the games because up until now Chelsea didn't look completely open at all. They looked very secure defensively in the games they have played up until now. It is our quality today that opened them up and we kept throwing absolutely everything forward.
on what has changed for his team…
What has changed is that we got half of the team in on August 31 and we had to qualify for the Champions League. We had to rebuild a complete unity in the way we want to play football. Every win makes you stronger as well.
So now the players get used to the way we play so we get stronger but we have to remain humble, keep focus and work very hard together. There is still some ground to make up to come into a stronger position in the league and teams in front of us do not drop many points. But that quality we have shown today should make us more confident.
on Aaron Ramsey…
What people forget about players like Wojciech, Ramsey and Wilshere are all 19-20 years old. They are top quality and it is normal that they improve from game to game and from year to year.
on a strong run of form…
It's the best habit in my job. We are more consistent now and we have to keep that going now. Tuesday night will be another test where we will have to focus and produce that quality again, that's what is at stake.
on a big statement…
We played some games like Liverpool and Manchester United when we played with ten men. But we did not have the team at that time - I feel as though we are much stronger now.
on goals conceded in big games this season...
It's a good question because is it down to the fact that there are so many good offensive players on the pitch or is it down to a team scoring more goals and opening themselves up? Or is it down to the fact that the top teams are a bit more fragile defensively? It is difficult to answer that, we need more games to do that.
Source: Arsenal.com on 29 Oct 11
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