Wenger proud of Arsenal performance

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
29 Mar	3:00 PM	P	Bolton Wanderers (A)	3	2	Win

Manager Arsène Wenger was proud of his team's performance at Bolton, after seeing them come back from 2-0 down to win the match 3-2 with only ten men.

The Gunners had midfielder Abou Diaby sent off for serious foul play in the first half, and saw their defence breached twice for the second match in succession.

It didn't look as though there was a way back for Arsenal until William Gallas scored in the second half, before a Robin van Persie penalty brought the match level.

A late Fabregas strike which was deflected into the Bolton match capped a magnificent comeback.

Wenger said: "I am very proud of our performance. The first half we didn't play badly but everything went against us.

"Their first shot on target was a goal, we had a player sent off and just before half time they score a second.

"But we did absolutely everything to win the game and we got a very important victory for us.

"I was not upset with the sending-off of Diaby because his foot was a bit high.

"I feel it was more a protective tackle than an aggressive one but he was too high - I don't complain."

User Comments

dublingunner

Posted on 1 Apr, 2008 at 01:16 AM - Reply

walcott over eboue anyday !! eboue cudn score in a brottl wit fiftys comeing outta his D***!! its theos time t shine and e knows it

Gavin Welch

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 01:04 PM - Reply

Another thought, maybe Eboue is not performing as I would expect from him because he is playing out of position.

Last season he was our right back and he did very well but Sagna has come in and taken that role, Eboue is having to play on the right wing which although you see spurts of excellence he is not used to playing there and has no history behind him of playing in that position for Wenger, maybe next season he will be different there because he has had a season to get used to the position. Just like Theo is coming the good from his year out on the wing. ;-)

Gavin Welch

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 12:45 PM - Reply

I try to not judge any player or manager on singal game performances, instead I look at the season as a whole. So far we have been doing great, even if we have had a slump recently we have still done very very well, but the season is not finished yet so I will not say too much on how I think the season has gone as a whole.

All I think about is that it is still possible to finish top and second place looks very do-able. You guys are just rude when it comes to Wenger, the guy is the best manager arsenal have ever had and you say things like the comments below, I recommend you grow up and learn about football!!

All of our players are very very good, but this does not mean they will win every game does it?

Only player I think has under performed to my expectations this season is E. Eboue, I think he is better than he has shown this season. Last season, he was amazing!

Chandra Dores

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 10:15 AM - Reply

Arsenal is good. Right now Arsenal have a good performance. Right now we can beat any clubs in EPL. We have to trust Wenger and STOP critizing Wenger. Go..Arsenal and long live for Arsenal.OK Ces

Nikhil

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 08:35 AM - Reply

The reason why Man U is winning is because they have people who they can trust. Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez are one of the world's best finishers and we don't have any. I'm not saying like they are not good but they need to finish properly. Robin please just listen to me. Barca have been losing right now several matches and they lost to Real Betis 3-2 after a 2 goal lead. They are losing coz they don't have Ronnie and Messi. Ronnie is a matchwinner. Another thing I have to say Robin is that we definetely need a free-kick taker coz right now no one is scoring in free-kicks. Right now you all have to stop criticizing Wenger for not buying someone coz Wenger is more intelligent than us and that is why he is chosen as the manager. Wenger has realised that he should buy a striker this transfer season but the reason he thought for not buying was because he had faith in Ade and at that time Ade was scoring in every match so he thought why should he waste his money. He plans on buying Ben Arfa but the thing is that not only should he buy a young player but someone who is experienced. Someone of the age of 23,24,25. Podolski and Gomes are a good choice and if I tell you truthfully we do not have a single German player. Schweinsteiger is amazing and if you saw the world cup match between Portugal and Germany,Schweinsteiger scored two fantastic goals so that is why I recommend them.

fahmid

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 07:13 AM - Reply

well done arsenal!very good performance .this game proved that walcot should start ahead of eboue every time.and also was surprised how we didnt concede with three defenders,so very very good defending by toure,gallas and clichy.in this game gallas was my man of the match.and my team against liverpool is-1.almunia 2.toure[also can be used as a cb when liverpool has the ball]3.gallas 4.senderos 5.clichy 6.eboue 7.flamini 8.fabregas 9.hleb 10.walcott 11.van persie. substitutes-1.ade[1 more game in the bench than back into the starting xi]2.bendtner 3.gilberto 4.denilson 5.djourou

dublingunnr

Posted on 31 Mar, 2008 at 01:34 AM - Reply

yes i also tink dat aswell ,like how much were they offered for him ??any other manager wudda took dat dosh but he didnt simply because dat kid is man utd ,fergie knows were his bread is buttered and KNOWS if e gets rid of him he will hav to work hard on gettin his team in ship shape i.e.shrek,saha....

topgunner101

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:16 PM - Reply

and they ARE a one man team.take ronnie out and theyd be waaaaay behind us. and i been sayin for ages. ronnie leaves and fergie will retire. watch.

topgunner101

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:14 PM - Reply

dublingunner said it all.and it shows we got the best fans in the world,cos at man u and chelski you wont get this belief in their team. damn.we are the best!!

dublingunnr

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:10 PM - Reply

listen united are only on top because they hav a hotshot in der team,i believe thats the only reason y there on top and dnt tink they wud be d same without him.i really am proud t b a gunner after dat peformane at bolton i really am and dat sort of heart,determination and will HAS GOT TOO PAY OFF FOR US i dont mind if we dnt win anything dis year ,it wont stop me from wearing my red and white because i feel we got something better this year than silverware !thats a reputation for class,charisma and style,gunner till d end

Robin

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 10:43 PM - Reply

United still have 2 play chelsea and arsenal. If they lose both and draw another 1, and chelsea drop points somewhere, we have a chance of winning it.

Soloman

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 08:31 PM - Reply

In this era, the Premiership champions can never afford the luxury of 4 points from 15 and still take the title. It may have happened in the 80's but you will never see champions today with that bad a run. We threw it away in that poor run. Sure it was a combination of the 4-0 hangover, the Eduardo injury and the stupid last minute penalty against Birmingham but you have to live with it and get on in the next game, we didn't.

Onya Backqubitch

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 08:25 PM - Reply

Does anyone think we can still win the title? Let's bear in mind, we are relying on Man Who to win only 3 of their 6 remaining games (if they win 4, then we can't win it). I suppose you could say 4 of their 6 are away and the 2 home games they have are against us, and against their bogey team West Ham but they are on such a strong run at the moment, it's difficult to see them slipping isn't it? (someone tell me i'm wrong!)

AndyB

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 08:17 PM - Reply

I agree with ash, Eboue has been woeful this season. At times when he has got forward with the goal at his mercy he has skyed his shots off target when it is easier to hit the target, and at going past defenders, he has been winning less than 10% of the time. At least last season he looked sharper and provided a few goals. And he is the kind of player who does something stupid and gets sent off for a dreadful tackle, or a kick or elbow. We should send him packing.

Robin

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 07:10 PM - Reply

Its ok, though ronaldinho isnt as good as u think he is, he has been dissappointing this year and has rarely been on form. And y would u insult wenger for not starting walcott, he uses him as an impact sub which worked very well yesterday.

Zive Macedonia

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 06:48 PM - Reply

you know that this is a young team which had beaten all off the critisism given to the club before the starting of the season.I have full confidence in Arsen but for me he made big mistake not bringing theo and eboue on starting line they would made serious treaths for bolton defence on right side.For me I think abou has not deserved not a little bit from the time that wenger has given to him during this season, I don't know what he finds in him.But if we want to win the title we have to deserved it by beating all 6 games left and offcourse manutd that would be the primare target if we want to win the title but do not forget liverpool.Bye for now if you want to get in touch brut_boj@hotmail.com

Nikhil

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 06:03 PM - Reply

Hey Robin I really apologize for insulting you that time and I'm really sorry.

Nikhil

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 06:02 PM - Reply

Ash is right. We do need a centre back and a winger but we also need a striker. I feel that we need Ronaldinho because he is one of the best finishers in the world and Hleb can't shoot for heavens sake. Eboue is not good at all. Another reason I feel we need Ronnie is because he is an amazing free kick taker and rarely misses. His goals aren't flukes but pure messages that he is the best. Wenger is the dummest person I have seen. Why doesn't he bring Walcott in the staring line up. Walcott is the fastest player I have seen and in Liverpool everyone is slow and no one can match his pace. If you realise when Wenger brought on Walcott we started scoring the goals. But once again kudos to Arsenal for finally ending a bad run and winning the match in a dramatic manner and for their first win in a very long time.

Jim Lamb

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 03:40 PM - Reply

No real surprise we beat Bolton-we were the better team throughout and played well for the result.Lesser teams may have folded at 0-2 but this proves we are made of sterner stuff.Liverpool will be a different proposition but i fancy us to win the tie.I agree with Ash that Eboue is not to be trusted in this game-id go Toure,Gallas,Senderos and Clichy at the back.Ive given Gallas some stick lately so ill wipe the egg off my face temporarily and say well done yesterday.I still dont like him as a captain-hes just not an Arsenal captain but nobody will be more delighted if he lifts silver in Moscow.Lets hope this is now the start of one of those sweet little runs that we so often put together late season.Wishing us all luck on tuesday-be nice to wake up weds with the papers eating their words and singing our praises again.Go on you gooners-FEARLESS!!!

Lawrence Kaluba

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 03:31 PM - Reply

great perseverence from the gunners i would say.Despite being 2 goals down they managed to come out victorious .

ash

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 02:48 PM - Reply

A fantastic comeback but as said before it only papers over the cracks. We need a least two good signings in the summer, centreback and a winger. Great spirit but I must say that Toure worries me he has got pleanty of time to recover from the African cup but is hoplessly off the pace and Wenger should not drop Senderos again for him. As for Hlep, well he doe's not look interested anymore, mayby his mind is already in Italy, I hope not but this is not the first game that he has dropped a few levels. Theo will hopefully start against pool but I fear that Eboue will be back, what Wenger see's in him I will never know and with RVP comming back into form we should have a decent chance

topgunner101

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 01:54 PM - Reply

yay!!! this is the attitude.this is hopefully a turning point.now hes gettin the pitch minutes in rvp will only get better.soon be back to bein one of the most lethal preditory strikers in the world today.man u beware.

Toywa-kenya

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 01:40 PM - Reply

Go on gooners, i said on this forum that its now time for great individual goals, Gallas did it first, many will come from Fab, Senderos, Flamini and oh yes Ade. We still r in th race. Arsenal can beat any team, including Man u. Thats y they beat us in th FA. We couldnt xpect 2 beat them thrice? (we meet them in th CL final)

David

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 01:24 PM - Reply

Flamini should have scored before the PK was given for a foul on Hleb. Anyway, we played really well on both wings, and Walcott should definitely start the game this Wednesday, we need his pace and centering passes to beat Liverpool. Again, we scored on corner kicks, fifth in a roll, while Fabregas' deflected goal was our first teamplay goal in a month after Walcott scored that second goal at B'ham. Adebayor still couldn't find his scoring boots, he squandered another golden opportunity when 2-2 to shoot tamely at Bolton keeper. He should be warming the bench too on Wednesday. Line-up for ECL game against L'pool: Lehmann/Eboue-Toure-Gallas-Clichy/Denilson-Hleb-Flamini-Fabregas-Walcott/RVP, subs:Almunia-Senderos-Gilberto-Bendtner-Ade-Diaby

GunnerSG

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 01:01 PM - Reply

I will never take this victory away from Arsenal as its 100% deserved. One observation I made about the Bolton game is we lack pace. Especially the midfielders are not as fleet footed as our forwards who expect the service of the ball to be fast in order to exploit gaps effectively. By the time Van Persie, Bendtner or Adebayor get the ball they have already been closed down, this must not happen. I believe in the quality in the current side but they need a little fine tuning and will eventually be much better.

GunnerSG

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 12:59 PM - Reply

I will never take this victory away from Arsenal as its 100% deserved. One observation I made about the Bolton game is we lack pace. Especially the midfielders are not as fleet footed as our forwards who expect the service of the ball to be fast in order to exploit gaps effectively. By the time Van Persie, Bendtner or Adebayor get the ball they have already been closed down, this must not happen. I believe in the quality in the current side but they need a little fine tuning and will eventually be much better.

Olufemi Akinbunmi

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:56 AM - Reply

The 3 pts is vital at dis stage. We just hv 2 be focus on our remaining games, we can still do it. Go Gooners!!! The trophy is ours

Nikhil

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:44 AM - Reply

The first reason I felt we won was because of Gallas' goal. In a team everyone's role model should be the captain. When Gallas scored it created a hope in everyone because it was the captain who scored. Secondly we have been great in our corners which is something new and is a good thing for us. Thirdly it is great to have Persie back from injury coz he is our best penalty taker. Fourthly we have been practicing hard and we have always been playing nice nut our defense again let us down this match because their second goal was deflected. My question is who is better Almunia or Lehmann? Fifthly, Wenger had brought Walcott early and that is in the 60th minute. Walcott should be in the starting line-up because he is good. But the person who won the game for us was Cesc Fabregas and we all ought to be proud of this performance because we came up from 2-0 to make it 2-3 and this shows we have courage and determination to win the title also.

topgunner101

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 11:42 AM - Reply

some people are never happy.it was a great performance. down to ten men losing two nil.ends in a three two win.the haters wont be happy.theyve enjoyed our bad run.thought they d be here today gloating.again.feelin a little robbed aint ya.tough.wrote us off at your peril.what did you expect.it would last? it was a good mental performance.so.get over yourselves.even fergie says the prem aint sown up and will go to the wire.

samuel from Uganda

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 10:30 AM - Reply

congulations to whole team coz they worked together as a team. i would also like to appreciate cesc hard working. i don't remember seeing cesc in the same positon in other words he over worked himself that i think he needs some resting come wednesday but who can play his role. but he looks tired.

leo9903

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 09:51 AM - Reply

our defence is not that bad,it's our backup defence that is crap. (hoyte, senderos, etc...) How can you say toure is crap, gallas scored....

leo9903

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 09:48 AM - Reply

well said

Josh

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 09:47 AM - Reply

Yes, because our defence was so appalling that we didn't concede in the second half, despite playing with a back 3 (That was sarcasm, by the way). Oh and the fact that our captain, a DEFENDER, scored for us and instigated the comeback. Phht.

Mr.Wenger

Posted on 30 Mar, 2008 at 08:48 AM - Reply

Note that you don't have a good defence and sharp striking line but you have the best midfield in the Premier League.

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