Wenger: We were more urgent when we had 10 men
Dear Arsenal Supporter,
I believe we played an outstanding game on Saturday against West Ham.
We played with class and spirit and we kept our nerve when the situation became difficult. Overall we showed a good attitude, good maturity and, in the important moments, we were decisive in every department. I am thinking about the goalkeeper here and then moving Alex Song to centre back; everybody adapted very well to the situation and technically I believe we were outstanding.
I felt the red card for Thomas Vermaelen was very harsh. We have seen this situation many times in the game without it being punished at all.
But Manuel Almunia silenced the critics with his save. He had a few problems at the start of the season but in the last two or three months I have found him to be outstanding. Credit to him.
Our 2-0 victory took us up to second in the table and we know that at least one of Manchester United and Chelsea will drop points between now and the end of the season. They play each other later on.
Obviously we have lost home and away to both teams this season but, it does not matter to me, I would still take the title!
That same situation happened with Manchester United when they were champions last year. And yes, it's a point of view. But then, ideally, you would want to win all 38 games and everyone would say: 'they deserve it'. You never have the perfect season.
Right now we are in a position where we can show people that we have improved. We've already improved our consistency. I don't know where we will finish but let's go for it now.
We are in a strong position in the Premier League table after the win against West Ham but we still have to focus on our quality and continue to improve. So now let's just be better in our next game and that's at Birmingham on Saturday.
With the results we are making, we can only go from game to game. But we know we have the desire and we have the quality.
Finally, I'd just like to let you know that Robin van Persie should be back at the Club this week. We sent our fitness coach out to Holland where he has been having his rehabilitation. Physically he looks very sharp but we aim to wait at least a month for him. So we need to be patient.
Thanks for your support.
Arsène Wenger
