Arsène Wenger spoke to the media after his side's 4-0 FA Cup fifth-round replay win at Hull City on Tuesday evening. Here's a transcript of what he said:
on his changes…
We lost two centre backs in the game and when you play away from home that is not easy to cope with. We did quite well because Monreal came on as a centre back where he has played a few times last year and Chambers was moved in. I thought they coped well.
on the injuries…
Mertesacker is just a cut on his eye and looks to be very short. Gabriel is a hamstring and Ramsey is a thigh problem. To me, the most serious looks to be Ramsey. He has a thigh problem, I think it is a thigh strain.
Per Mertesacker
on the win…
We had a great game on Saturday and I was quite amazed by the response we got from that game. Overall, I believe that we do not always need confidence, you can play well when your confidence is not at the highest. Our job is to play and I believe that we have a great spirit in the team and we have shown that again tonight.
on Giroud scoring…
Giroud had gone a while without a goal and that will help him tonight. He became [the father] of a young boy last night and that will certainly give him euphoria. Walcott scored which is good as well.
Olivier Giroud
on if he thought about leaving Giroud out…
I was tempted [to] do that.
on Giroud wanting to play…
I think in the end you make a decision and you hope it is the right one. I made the decision to play him and he wants to always play and all the other players want to play and that is quite normal. People are sometimes surprised that players want to play. Believe me, you don’t play at that level if you don’t want to play.
on Walcott and Giroud needing goals…
How much? As much as they can.
on what the FA Cup means to him…
Do you know somebody that has won it [the FA Cup] more than me? That gives you your answer.
on playing Sunday…
We judge the season after the season and I’m quite amazed that so many people want to judge so early. Assess the season at the end of the season but we have not given up anywhere and you will see that in the coming weeks. I believe that this club has been in [a] much worse position than it has been in today.
on Barcelona next week…
What matters in football is the next game. The next game is Watford on Sunday afternoon.
on playing Sunday and not Saturday…
I would have loved to have played on Saturday but we don’t influence the schedule and we do not get any favours so everybody will be happy in England.
on if the FA should give teams who play in the Champions League more time to recover…
It’s not [for] you to do, it’s us. We sell football and we give it to the media to dictate the timing because we take the money so I won’t complain at all. I would rather look from our side.
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