Arsene Wenger spoke to the media after his side beat Burnley in the FA Cup fourth round.
Here's a full transcript of what he said:
on the game…
We needed to work. At the start it looked like it would be easy because we had a lot of the ball and good opportunities around the box. When it came back to 1-1, it became a different game. I think we were a bit shocked and they gained belief. I saw them against Derby and I could see that this is a very efficient, strong team with no weakness. Everything they do is based on efficiency and they’ve shown that today. In the second half, I don’t think they created a lot. They had one or two opportunities on the counter-attack but we managed to win the game and we looked quite in control at the end. We needed to keep our focus, our urgency until the last minute.
on Chambers and Alexis’ goals…
I would say they are two completely different goals. One came from a build up in the final third, where we were patient and moved the ball well, with great finishing from Chambers. He’s quite a good finisher in training. The second one was in transition, coming out quickly from the back and finishing well, with a lot of pace. They were two completely different goals.
on Elneny’s debut…
I felt he started a bit cautious, played a bit secure. He became more adventurous, he had some good shots on goal. His mobility, his work rate was exceptional and for the rest, he needs to adjust to the power of the game in the Premier League. This was a good welcome today and certainly he has learnt a lot today. It will take him some time to adjust to the power side of our game here, but the intelligence, the mobility and the technical level are good.
on Coquelin’s return and if it was early…
He was quite available for the Chelsea game but I thought it was a bit early. Today he looked quite comfortable and without any problems.
on Alexis…
[It was his first start] for eight or nine weeks. When I saw Derby against Burnley, I had a little hesitation to pick the three [Alexis, Coquelin, Elneny]. But the fact that we played at home, I thought we could manage to get away with it. With Alexis, I was not too much worried about on the fitness front because I kept him out two weeks ago and he was already there physically. We had some worries about his muscle but today he came through well and you could see that physically, he is ready.
Francis Coquelin in action
on the importance of Alexis…
He had a long rest now. When he got injured, you could see signs of fatigue. I think two months’ rest is a good winter break!
on what winning three FA Cups in a row would mean…
First of all we have only passed two rounds. It’s a long way to go, when you look at everybody still in there. We would love to do it but there’s a long way to go. We are still in three competitions and we will try every time to get a team out to pass the round.
on if Gnabry is returning from loan…
Yes.
on if Gnabry will stay at Arsenal this season…
I am tempted to give him some competition because he has not played at West Brom. I am tempted to let him go somewhere to do with him what I did with Coquelin, somewhere for a month or two.
on Debuchy…
No [developments]. We will not have a long time to wait [the deadline is approaching].
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