Gunners stroll pleases Wenger - 13 Nov 2007
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hailed his side’s controlled performance in their 3-1 win over Reading in front of the Setanta Sports 1 cameras, a result that saw them leapfrog Manchester United and return to the top of The Premier League.
Mathieu Flamini, Emmanuel Adebayor and Alexander Hleb all scored ahead of Nickey Shorey’s late consolation and Wenger was happy that his side did not get frustrated in their search for a goal, a search that went on until the 44th minute.
“I felt we were in control,” Wenger told Setanta Sports 1 after the game. "We needed to be patient. They did not come at us and wanted to catch us on the break so it was us going to them and trying to score and after that [Flamini’s opening goal] it looked like we were always in control in this game.
“I did not want my team to get frustrated. We knew before the game that we may need to be patient and we were and maybe the first goal coming just before half-time was a killer for Reading.
“It is good when everybody has already played [over the weekend]. There is always a little bit more pressure when you play the last one to show that you have the nerves to deal with that and just play our game.”
Wenger has recently lauded this season's squad as his fourth great team and after the win at Reading he said of his current crop of talent: “I think they are enjoyable to watch and work with. They are young and hungry, fantastic players with a great attitude.”
One disappointing note from the game for Arsenal was a suspension-earning booking for Cesc Fabregas. The brilliant youngster will now miss the next home game against Wigan and Wenger said of his booking: “Unfortunately, he was one yellow card away. He did not need to make this yellow card but it was one.”
Finally, on a second goal scored by Adebayor that was ruled out – wrongly on the evidence of TV replays, Wenger said when asked if it was offside: “I didn’t think so but I have to check that on TV.” |