Wenger pleased by Arsenal response

25 November 2009 07:14
The Gunners responded from their lacklustre loss at the Stadium of Light with a comfortable victory which secured safe passage into the last 16 at the top of Group H ahead of the final match in Olympiacos after first-half goals from Samir Nasri and Denilson.[LNB]It came at a price as William Gallas and Kieran Gibbs both suffered injuries but Wenger was at least happy with his side's response in what is set to be an important week.[LNB]"The first half was good, with lots of fluent movement, but after we lacked a bit of urgency in the final third because we eased off," he said.[LNB]"If you look in the last eight or nine games, we have had a very good run.[LNB]"Saturday at Sunderland was not at the requested level.[LNB]"It is not out of the mind of the players because you never forget a disappointment, but it was important to win this game well with the Chelsea game on Sunday in mind."[LNB]Arsenal continued their fine record of qualifying for the latter stages of Europe's elite club competition - something Liverpool could not do[LNB]"I am pleased, because this competition is not easy," said Wenger, who took his side to the final in 2006 and semi-finals last season.[LNB]"We were favourites in this group, which was normal, so we just did the job.[LNB]"But if you put the 10 years together, we have been consistent."[LNB]Wenger added: "There are two competitions in the Champions League, one is a championship, one is a cup.[LNB]"We move into that cup stage now, and that's very different psychologically.[LNB]"Every minute now becomes important. We have to adapt to that.[LNB]"Let's get all our injured players back, get in a strong position in the Premier League, and that will give us the confidence."[LNB]Wenger, meanwhile, confirmed midfielder Alex Song, 22, had agreed a new deal.[LNB]"We extended his contract yesterday (on Monday)," added the Frenchman. "That will be confirmed very shortly.[LNB]"He is an important player.[LNB]"Alex has three years to go, now he has four years to go at the end of the season - to 2014."[LNB]Standard, meanwhile, must now hope the Gunners beat Olympiacos, with what is set to be a much-changed young side, to stand any chance of claiming runners-up spot.[LNB]The Belgians were missing main striker Milan Jovanovic through injury, but could have taken the lead when Dieudonne Mbokani smashed his drive against the angle.[LNB]However, Standard finished with 10 men when Mehdi Carcela-Gonzalez was sent off for pushing his forehead into the face of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas.[LNB]Standard coach Laszlo Boloni was less than impressed by the 20-year-old.[LNB]"That has serious consequences for us," he said.[LNB]"I am gutted about his behaviour and angry against the lack of respect towards his team.[LNB]"The club have put a lot of effort to push him where he is now, in the Belgian national team.[LNB]"I will not give him an easy time.[LNB]"He has to understand the responsibility of the club is more important than his own stardom."[LNB]Boloni added: "We were prepared for the pressure Arsenal would put on us, and we tried to have more density in midfield, which is not easy with the one-touch football they play.[LNB]"However, they could not score from the chances they had in front of goal.[LNB]"We also missed some chances, especially in the first half.[LNB]"But with all the injuries we had, and the quality of the opponent we cannot allow to give the ball away. If you do that, it is very frustrating.[LNB]"We needed to be more focused."[LNB][LNB]

Source: Team_Talk