Arsene Wenger addressed the media after Arsenal began their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 victory in Marseille. Read on for a transcript of what the boss said:
on the game...
Marseille had a very good first half but we didn't make big mistakes at the back and were patient enough to win it in the second half. I felt we were a bit within ourselves in the first half, a bit timid, and Marseille were more mobile and first on the ball. They dropped in the second half and we took advantage of our strong moments. That got us three very important points.
on Aaron Ramsey…
Honestly, I didn't expect him to score so many goals. He's especially improved in his passing, his technical quality. He was always in good positions in the box, but scoring is a bit cyclical. You have periods when it goes in and others when it doesn't. For me the most important thing is the quality of his game.
"What is interesting is the consistency we have shown and that creates belief"
Arsene Wenger on Arsenal's away record
on Ramsey reaching a high performance level after injury…
I decided to be patient with him because when you have been injured for such a long time it takes a while to get back to your best. The only thing is, you never know if he will come completely back. But when you are injured before 20, you come back to your normal level and improve like you have not been injured.
on errors…
The errors are crucial. The first team that scores usually wins the game. The stats are very simple here - 78 per cent of the time when the team score first they win the game. That was the case tonight - an illustration of what I just said.
on Marseille…
I knew Marseille would be difficult. I think the only the people that don't think Marseille can make it tough for us is people from Marseille.
on Ozil and Wilshere's impact…
I felt we didn't change sides enough in the first half and didn't find Jack or Ozil enough. But Marseille defended very well and stopped us from playing through the lines. We didn't go in enough behind and overall there was not enough purpose in our game. I insisted more on that at half-time.
on Ramsey being one of the most in-form midfielders in Europe…
I don't know if anybody is playing better. For me, I don't look at it like that. Aaron is playing well and that is most important, as it is that he continues to improve. I thought it would be a tricky game here tonight. Before the game I was conscious Marseille would be well focused. They know they are not favourites, they had nothing to lose and the French are dangerous when they are in that position. I knew it was important to get three points here if we want to have a chance. I said yesterday we needed 10 points at least so to start with three is good.
on 10 successive away wins…
We always try to win and it has worked in recent months. We played many away games where you expect us to be in a position where we can win the game. But what is interesting is the consistency we have shown and that creates belief.
on if Marseille are out now…
No, I don't think so. If you remember two years ago the first game we came here and won. Marseille then went to Dortmund and won, qualifying from the group. I do think they have to take positives from aspects of today's game and continue.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
