It was under special circumstances maybe a little bit but for us it was important to get a win in a big place to strengthen the belief of the squad and continue our march forward. What I think we did today [we did with] intelligence and overall the needed performance to play against ten men.
On the sending off...
It looked to me it was a sending off from the bench and that the referee had no option.
On the number of tackles in the first half…
After the sending off it became a bit electric. We got some yellow cards I felt were quite quick but then it was important for us not to get a second yellow. I asked the players at half time to focus on playing in a positive way and to try to score a second goal. To try and get us to focus on football and not just defending our advantage. You could see that for the whole game as long as it was not 2-0 we played with the feeling that ‘we need to win, we need to win’ and there was a little bit of restriction in our game. After [we made it] 2-0 it became easier.
On the positive reaction of his players after the penalty miss…
What people forget [is that] at Sunderland we were down to ten men and we dominated completely the second half, we missed the penalty and conceded an equaliser in the last minute of the game. Today it was a reverse but overall I am very pleased because we look like we have matured.
On Samir Nasri’s progress…
He is becoming more efficient. I think he has become stronger physically and you judge a player with his numbers. Today he had a goal and an assist so that’s what you want from players who have a lot of talent like he has. He is quite a complete player because he can run with the ball, he is quick and he is a clinical finisher now. I believe we have a great player in him now.
On Lukasz Fabianski’s performance…
From game to game he shows what we see in training. Sometimes in our job you have to be steady and fight against opinions. It’s easier for you when you know the player has the talent and I believe he has the talent.
On whether he will be number one when Manuel Almunia returns…
I never say that definitely because you always want the freedom to change when it is needed. At the moment looking at his performances you can absolutely not fault him at all.
On how his team has matured…
In terms of negotiating in an intelligent way the difficulties of the game. That means not getting a red card today, being patient when that was needed and I think collectively we dominated completely the game.
On the win being the first in ten games against a 'big' side...
I can’t explain to you why but it is true. In some games we were close to winning and finally we just lost. For example at Chelsea we lost 2-0 - when you watch the game again it’s difficult to understand how we lost the game apart from the fact that they took two great chances. It was a level game. I hope that will give us the belief and the confidence to transfer that into other games.
On whether there is more to come from Nasri...
At 23 years old your career starts at the top level.
Source: Arsenal.com on 24 Oct 10
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