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Wenger on the win, character, the bench

Arsene Wenger saw his side go top of the table with a fine 4-1 victory against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.

Afterwards, he faced the media and discussed his delight at the performance and the squad depth he has at his disposal.

on being satisfied with the result…
I am happy with the performance, with the result. At some stage we were questioned with our spirit as well, because we missed many chances. At 1-1 you think you have the chance to lose a game that should be over, but we kept going again and had another go. In the end we won in a comfortable way. Overall I feel it was important for us to win today, because we had won six [in a row] and then drew at home last weekend, which was disappointing. So to have another game without a win would maybe have created some uncertainty so it was important to win the game.

on the team’s resolve at 1-1…
I would have signed for a 2-1 at that time, but the last 10 minutes were relaxing. The first two balls Giroud touched were goals, and that shows you when you have quality on the bench, it’s easy to make good decisions. With Giroud back, Ramsey back, Xhaka not suspended anymore, overall I think we are in a good position.

on the team’s approach…
We wanted not to let them gain confidence and to dictate the game from the start on. We know that they lack a bit of confidence, so it was important for us to dominate the game, and that’s what we did.

on what it means to see Arsenal go top…
That’s where everybody wants to be, so I will not complain. But it’s too early and it’s too tight as well. There are so many good teams in the league. We go game after game and it’s a good feeling when you play first and you win. At least you have one good day!

 

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