on the performance…
I felt it was a very dynamic, fluent performance in the first half with top technical quality. It was a controlled performance in the second half, we controlled the game and managed not to concede a goal. Our fatigue came in a bit because we gave a lot at Everton on Wednesday night to win the game. Overall I am very happy, very pleased because we managed to score goals and not concede any. We have consistency at the moment, so let's go home and wait for the next game.
on rising from 17th to third…
At the time [we were 17th] I agree it was a dream to be in third but what you do is come in and do your job as well as you can, stay positive and work hard. I was optimistic because the attitude of the players was positive every day. We have gone through difficult times, we have learned that nothing is guaranteed and we must keep humility and focus to finish the season in a strong, convincing way.
on the team's resurgence…
I didn't expect we would be in third today because it didn't only depend on us. We needed our results and results in our favour from opponents. In the past month it has turned our way so we have to make sure we keep the momentum. We look to be a team on the up so that is positive. We look at the next game and try to win it - that's all we can do. We have eight games to go, four at home, four away. Next is QPR and that is certainly another battle for us so let's go there and try to be positive.
on the winning run justifying his faith in the team…
It is always very difficult in our game, because you multiply the positive vibes by 25 and also the negative vibes by 25. That makes our job look easy sometimes, and other times so difficult. When you are in a bad period it is very hard to get out of it, when you are in a good period you need to keep your urgency. The fact we are close to the end of the season means every game is a cup final.
on Laurent Koscielny…
Koscielny had tendinitis in his knee when he woke up this morning. I don't know what position he slept in but he could not walk properly. He tried in the warm-up but could not play. We decided in the morning when he woke up. He came to see me and said he was not sure that he could play with that pain. So we called somebody up and pushed him in the warm-up. Straight away after the first run he said he could not even move. How bad it is we have to assess.
on Robin van Persie's future…
We have had no indications yet and Champions League football is not guaranteed. We can manage it if we keep our performances at this level. Considering Van Persie, we have spoken many times about it and there is not much more to add.
on goals from all over the team…
I believe what people forget when you play at home, when we have the ambition that we have, is that you need full backs who go forward. We played for a long time with centre backs as full backs and that kills your offensive drive a little bit. Then we went a lot through the middle and relied on Van Persie. Now we have a bit more variation in our build-up play and therefore we are more dangerous as well.
on Theo Walcott's display…
Theo had a very good performance and scored a great goal. You have to give him credit for that. But I would like to give credit to the pass from Song, because it is not the first time he has done that. You do not see many defensive midfielders [do that]. If you look at the assists that he has made this season, you will see that his numbers are top in Europe.
on what has made the difference recently…
When we did not win games [earlier in the season], I did not feel we played as badly as people said. I feel we have gained a lot of confidence in our play out from the back and that makes a massive difference. The defenders who play out from the back give us a security now and that allows the team to be much more confident.
on Mikel Arteta's free-kick…
I prefer it when he takes free-kicks with his laces because he has short feet. Usually the guys who have good insight have bigger, longer feet, and when a guy has short feet like that they are very talented at hitting the ball with their laces. The ball floats a little bit when they take it and I think he is more built to hit the free-kicks like that.
Source: Arsenal.com on 24 Mar 12
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