on the performance…
I think in the first 20-25 minutes we were really in it well. After that for about 15-20 minutes we maybe lost our way and they came back into it. Second half we had to knuckle in, fight and get our shape right which I thought we did better in the second half.
on Arsenal's goals…
It is unfortunate we didn't get the third but we also had opportunities on breakaways in the second half. They came, they waited for us, they broke us up in the middle of the park and in fairness they did well. You can't turn around and say we had all of the game because that would be unfair.
Needless to say I think we will be very, very happy with the three points.
on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain…
He can go inside, he can go outside, he's got that injection of pace and I think what he needs now is to be consistent in his play. I am sure that is something he will be working on because he's certainly not a stupid boy. He has good people around him and they are telling him all the right things.
He is a very confident boy, a strong boy and he listens to what people tell him. I think he makes his own mind up because when you are a professional footballer loads of different coaches tell you lots of different things. What you have to do is pick out the best things that are applicable to you. That is something Alex will no doubt actually do. He is very friendly with Theo and no doubt he will give him the benefit of his experience as well.
From Arsenal supporters' point of view, they are going to be seeing a lot of this boy. Whenever he breaks in permanently he has a big, big challenge to now get in front of Theo. I know that Theo is a very strong-willed guy as well and he won't give in easy. It all bodes well for England anyway.
on a nervous night for himself…
I said before we played Dortmund that it is not the kind of evening I particularly want. It's never actually been an ambition in my career to be a manager. I'm quite happy being a coach. But when decisions go against the manager, which in my personal opinion wasn't right, we have just got to get on with it.
on defensive performance…
I thought that in general they battled very hard. I think that as we went into the second half we were tighter in the second half than we were in the last 20 minutes of the first half. People can have the ball right and left but it wasn't really causing us too many problems. They have actually got a lot of the ball but in actual terms of what Szczesny has had to save I don't think there was all that many chances.
on the goal conceded…
It was soft, yes. From a defender's point of view it was really poor.
on Robin's omission…
Robin's been playing a lot of games lately and it was just a question of Chamakh needing games. We just thought that we would give him a go. You can't say that Marouane didn't try. If he had a little bit more luck he perhaps might have scored a third goal. But you cannot fault him for his work ethic.
on Olympiacos' performance…
I thought Olympiacos played very, very well and whenever we go over there to play, one would like to think we would have qualified.
on whether Oxlade-Chamberlain & Walcott could play together...
What you have to do is see whether the two of them can compliment each other - that is something I don't know, the manager does not know and the England manager does not know either because we have not seen them together.
You can think as much as you like, but until it actually happens you are only formulating an opinion of your own. All good players can play together.
on Tottenham...
That is a completely different ball game at Tottenham The most important thing for us was to win, because it takes us closer to qualifying. We will think more about the Tottenham game when we all get together again on Friday. I am losing track of time - when you get older, that is what happens to you!
Originally Posted by gunnerrrrr
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