on his early thoughts on the Final
"Now it is a Final and you will see a different Arsenal team
because we will recover a bit physically and no matter what happens
we have everything to win and we will give it our best shot. I
believe we can do it. There will be big expectation and I hope it
will be a fantastic game of football."
on the prospect of facing Barcelona
"We have seen tonight that we were comfortable in the first
game but in the second game we didn't look comfortable at all.
A lot can change in a week so maybe it will happen [when Barcelona
play Milan]."
on Jens Lehmann's heroics
"I am pleased for him because when a guy shows his
professionalism and a willing attitude, you want him always to be
rewarded. When you think where he started and you look at the step
forward he has made, he deserves a lot of credit. I made a good
decision in dropping him last year!"
on preparing for penalties
"I feel it is more down to psychological reasons. When a guy
is under pressure like Riquelme was with that shot, I felt that he
just wanted to hit the target and not put it in the corner because
he is scared to miss. Jens picked the right side, it is more a
poker game than training."
on Villarreal
"I feel Villarreal played very well and overall they looked
tactically and technically very quick. We could never get out at
the back. I must say they rested players over the weekend and they
had a huge physical advantage. They were on top of us physically
and technically tonight."
on El Madrigal
"It was a hot Highbury. From the start to the finish the crowd
was behind them and you can understand why not many teams win here.
There were in the Semi-Finals of the Uefa Cup and now the Champions
League, and their stadium is an explanation for that."
on Sol Campbell's return to the side
"I feel he had a good game, he was always under pressure
tonight and, when you see how long he has been out, the way he
played tonight I am very happy with him."
on Cesc Fabregas
"Cesc suffered physically tonight, a lot of the
players said it was hot. We come from a country where it is still
snowing at the moment, and we suffered a bit physically."
on the pressure in Spain
"Yes I was worried. We have shown a lot of
character and a lot of resilience tonight but we haven't found
our game. When we went forward we lost the ball too quickly. It was
down to physical reasons, we were suffering. We didn't create a
lot, but we wanted so much to go into this final and in the end we
had a bit of luck, and a lot of character to go through. "
on the penalty
"I felt frankly that it was a generous
decision. Then I thought to myself, if it is our year, Jens will
save it. Maybe the strength of character of Jens was important
because I knew he would not be beaten easily. There was a lot of
pressure on Riquelme and he had fatigue, but Jens had determination
and class, and he showed again what a great goalkeeper he has been
this season."
