Wenger: 'I know this team will not give up'

on being top of the table...
Chelsea have a game in hand but it is good because we had two difficult games against Bolton with a new manager. We faced two cup games and our mental strength, our physical strength, were deeply tested in both games.

on William Gallas' challenge before the equaliser...
I am sorry if the tackle was not good, really. There are two things I have heard just now: one, that he [Owen Coyle] was not happy with the tackle, and I am sorry if the tackle was not a good one. I apologise for that. The second thing, that he [Coyle] was not happy that we carried on playing, I think that is unfair because the players who went on, they did not know what was happening behind. When the player went down, they did not know if he got up again because when you win the ball you go forward, you don't know what is happening behind you. That is why I don't believe you can kick the ball out every time a player is down when you win the ball. That means every time you win the ball when you are 2-1 down, every time a player goes down you have to kick the ball out - it's impossible. That's why they changed the rule.

on a similar incident counting against Arsenal last week...
I don't know if you remember but when you asked me about the Everton game [when Denilson went down in open play and Everton attacked], I said straight away I didn't expect them to kick the ball out. It was a much more obvious situation because Denilson went down, they got the ball and went to score the third goal. I said after the game that it was OK.

on the tackles made over two games with Bolton...
In the last two games if you get all the challenges we got, and we had to absorb, and the challenges we made, I am not sure it is in our favour, because we got some big tackles. But we had to cope with it and I am sorry if it was foul [by Gallas] but I cannot change the referee's decision.

on his first impression of the tackle by Gallas...
It didn't look dirty from outside. What I saw was two or three players, it was not only William in there. I think Fabregas was in there at the start as well. I don't know, I have to watch it again.

on hearing the Arsenal fans cheering Davies' injury...
Of course, we don't want that. I believe always we are responsible for our behaviour whatever happens anywhere else.

on his team's nervy start...
I felt we could come back, yes, but as well you think that the next mistake could be deadly and can turn the game completely the other way. You could be 3-0 down so it was important to play at a high tempo and not make another mistake at the back. At 2-1 it created a doubt in their mind and created a belief in our heads. I know this team will not give up, they will fight until the end.

on Abou Diaby's injury...
Diaby has a calf strain, from a kick he got at Bolton on his calf. He went into the game with a stiff calf already and he didn't survive. I don't know how long he will be out. You have to check with him because you see more on the scan, so we have to be cautious.

on showing graft as well as craft...
I think we can [mix it]. We are certainly much more physically resistant. You cannot find a team better than Bolton in doing what they did tonight because they marked us man to man, they didn't give us an inch of space. When they had the ball they kicked it to Kevin Davies who went for every challenge, then they went well for the second ball. They did that very well, so physically you are never more tested than against a Bolton team.

[Wednesday, January 20, 2010]

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