A point means that Arsenal return to the top ahead of Leicester City on goal difference, while Stoke remain seventh.
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Arsenal’s goalless draw at Stoke City took them to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
Wenger also spoke of his disgust after Stoke fans chanted “Aaron Ramsey, he walks with a limp” – a reference to the Welsh midfielder’s leg break at the Britannia Stadium in 2010.
“They were great saves and it is very important to have a solid goalkeeper and Petr Cech is one of the best”. Every pass you make you try to do it perfectly and the players in front of you feel confident and that they can relax. “I focus on the game”, Wenger said.
At the Stoke end, Butland made a fine stop to keep out a Giroud header from Aaron Ramsey’s corner, while the Frenchman had a decent penalty appeal against Phillipp Wollscheid turned down, before a superb double save from Petr Cech disappointed Joselu and, from the rebound, Bojan.
He said: “I shut my ears and think that’s the best way to deal with it. I don’t know what to do about it. When you have the likes of Petr Cech coming in as well, he only enhances that”.
Hughes admitted he was somewhat bewildered by such comments, responding: “I heard Arsene say he was surprised we went direct, but I’m not sure what game he was watching”.
“We’ve all seen the potential of Jack”, Hughes told Sky Sports after the 0-0 score-line at the Britannia Stadium.
“I think we had two very physical games in four days away from home”, said Wenger, whose team drew 3-3 at Liverpool on Wednesday after conceding a last-gasp equaliser. It’s a shame that we couldn’t get the result we desperately wanted but it is an improvement from previous performances here and we have got to be proud of that point. “This is the best combination, I think”. “I’ve no idea that chant had taken place, but we wouldn’t approve of it at all”. “If we all have the belief he’s got, we can push on”.
“Compared to the history we have here, it’s a positive result”.
Joselu was the next Stoke attacker to be denied by Cech as he turned a deflected effort away on 65 minutes.
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Arsenal then had two penalty claims with Philipp Wollscheid involved in both, first appearing to haul down Giroud before Theo Walcott went down under the defender’s close attention.
