Wenger thrilled as ruthless Arsenal take advantage
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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Three of Arsenal FC's five goals may have been gifts according to FC Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu but Arsène Wenger was left praising another clinical display.
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Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal FC showed a ruthless streak to take advantage of a tiring FC Shakhtar Donetsk side in London. The Gunners were 5-0 up – three of them gifts according to Mircea Lucescu – before Eduardo pulled one back for the visitors to earn a standing ovation from the home fans.
Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
We made it easy because we had a good team performance. The goals came naturally through great technical quality, overall that slowly got them tired and, especially in the second half, the goals came with one-twos or possession. I felt they had given a lot in the first half to chase and be focused to defend well, and we took advantage of that in the second half.
When you win 1-0 it's too difficult; when you win 5-1 people think it's too easy. It's difficult to assess always why you won 5-1 but tonight we had an intelligent team attitude and a very good technical level. In the Champions League you get teams who are used to dominating their championship and so they play. You do not only play against teams who defend. When you are then superior you always have a chance to score goals.
If you wanted someone to score a goal for Shakhtar it was Eduardo because everybody has many good feelings for him. Everybody knows what a player he was when he arrived and what he went through, and his attitude has always been great. We are all happy for him.
Mircea Lucescu, FC Shakhtar Donetsk coach
There is no excuse for such a result. We gave Arsenal three presents: conceding two ridiculous goals and giving away a penalty. At 3-0 the result was already decided. Before the opening goal Arsenal didn't create anything and it was only our gifts which allowed them to have such a lead at half-time. The most important thing is to draw the right conclusions from this match and prepare well for the return in a fortnight, when I hope my team will be braver and more confident.
We played poorly tonight. Arsenal had an advantage because they were at home. They produced a classy, organised display while we made two big mistakes in the first half that influenced the outcome of the game. Still, I believe us and Arsenal were on the same level tonight.