on Theo Walcott's injury...
I don't really know [what is wrong]. I thought it was a classic hamstring but it is not. He felt a sharp pain in his knee and at the moment he is with the doctor. I don't know what the diagnosis will be but it is completely surprising. There was no one near him. I don't know what they will do, whether they will have a scan tonight, I will have to speak to the medical people.'
on a much-needed win...
Yes but you know we will not lose every game like we did at Blackburn. We had 22 shots on goal and we still lost so at the start of this game it was a question of nerves, of patience, of intelligence, and I think we controlled the game well even if Szczesny made a good save at the start of the game. In the second half I could not see Bolton scoring a goal although to their defence they were down to ten men and that made it even more difficult for them.
on Van Persie's emergence as a captain...
I think he is one of these guys who develops with responsibilities. You would think he is not natural at the start but when he has the responsibility he really grows well into the role. I have observed him and he does very well.
on his half-time team talk...
I felt that in the first half we were a bit impatient sometimes, that we didn't move the ball quickly enough, that our midfielders came a bit deep because we were man-marked. That exposed us a bit to counter-attacking and we had less support up front. In the second half, maybe because they were fatigued as well, our midfielders played higher up and we became straight away more dangerous. Bolton lost more balls and after that it was a question of when we would score the second goal. We had plenty of opportunities. It is a deserved win that is welcome for us because we cannot drop many more points.
on the referee playing advantage for the first goal...
I feel that overall he had a good game.
on the nature of Van Persie's captaincy...
He does not talk a lot to the other players because he is not a talker but he speaks his mind.
on whether Inter Milan called him about their manager's job...
I would not say that to you. I think you [the media] were consistent in wanting to get me out and I was consistent in wanting to stay in and to show my commitment to this club. So we have both been consistent.
on lower attendances...
It is linked with a combination of two things. First of all we had disappointing results recently and the second factor is that we are going towards a huge financial crisis which has been already in the society. We will be hit much more and I think football suffers from the consequences as well. You can look at all the clubs in England and the Premier League seats go slower and slower out. The stadiums will be less quickly full and we have noticed that already. We are maybe a special case because we had disappointing results but the other clubs had the same problem.
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Originally Posted by Joker
