Arsene Wenger faced the media after Saturday's 1-0 win against Burnley at Turf Moor. You can read a full transcript of his press conference below:
on the win…
I’m pleased with the performance because it was a more fighting performance than a fluent performance. Many people question us on that side but I would first say that I’m surprised by the quality of Burnley. It would be a shame if they go down because they are fantastically well organised, they press very well, they have a great solidarity, they are very fit and I understand now why they took points from the big teams here. We had to fight, we had to be combative until the end and we couldn’t score the second goal. Our defenders played well today and won us the three points.
on a different test to the Liverpool win…
It was a different test. At some stages at the start of the second half I thought we were under pressure to concede a goal because we didn’t start very well. In the last 20 minutes it looked like they got a little bit tired and we could have scored a second goal. There were periods in the game where we need to be tight, well organised and calm at the back, and I think our defenders and goalkeeper deserve credit.
on Arsenal being more composed…
When you look at the number of players we had out for four months, not two weeks, since the start of the season, we have had our squad back since January and that makes a difference.
"It’s a challenge for a team not to forget how much it hurts to lose a game and focus on winning the next one"
on whether he wonders what might have been…
Let’s not focus too much on that and focus on the next game, and give absolutely everything to finish in a strong way. We are in the FA Cup semi-final, we have six games to go with 66 points and we want to continue our run now.
on the title race…
Nothing has changed. Chelsea are still too comfortable. We need a perfect run and we need a non-perfect run from them. We cannot master that, we can only master our attitude. I feel they are still in a comfortable position.
on putting Chelsea under pressure…
We want to keep winning because we have to look behind us as well. Manchester City, Manchester United, Southampton, Liverpool and Tottenham are behind us but we have made a little bit of distance between us. Manchester United and Manchester City are closer to us.
on winning eight games in a row…
We don’t want to stop the run. We’ve won 16 of the last 18 so we are consistent. There’s a good attitude in the team and great quality. Let’s see. It’s a challenge for a team not to forget how much it hurts to lose a game and focus on winning the next one.
on Francis Coquelin…
First of all he’s shown his individual quality winning the ball and passing it quickly, and he’s very strong in the challenges. He also contributes to the balance of the team and that’s very difficult to measure. You know that the balance of the team sometimes depends on one player who has some characteristics that the others don’t. He looks like he has hugely contributed to that.
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