“We had a ideal performance, I think – on the mental front and on the tactical side as well”, said Wenger.
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The manager stressed that the results had made them stronger and strengthened their belief, adding that they were looking forward to the upcoming matches. We needed something special and when you deliver something special it can create positive memories for the rest of the season.
Qualification to the last 16 completes a remarkable turnaround for the Gunners as they become just the eighth side to advance through their group having taken three points or fewer from their opening four matches.
“I’m proud of consistency because it demands a lot of effort every day and I think that’s what it’s about”.
Arsene Wenger’s side needed to pull out something special in a hostile Greek atmosphere to fight their way out of a corner as earlier losses away to Dinamo Zagreb and home to Olympiakos, two very average teams, put them on the back foot.
Midway through the second period, Omar Elabdellaoui was perhaps harshly penalised for handling Nacho Monreal’s shot, and Giroud coolly converted the spot-kick for his first Arsenal hat-trick in his three and half years at the club.
“Or they can play together well, what I did on Wednesday night, so in some games I will play Olivier and Theo together. In the dressing room this team is very close and you could see that again today”.
“The supporters are unbelievable in their support towards me and I feel sorry I can not give them more than I am giving them”. The truth is that we fell somewhat below the strength of our team. “We know we can do it so the best way to do it is with a top-quality performance and that is what we want to focus on”.
Arsenal return to domestic duty with a trip to Villa Park, where Wenger will look to get one over on a former player of his, Remi Garde. The target is to maybe reach at least the quarter-finals.
Arsenal’s victory in Greece, which came with the rare bonus of no further injuries to Wenger’s threadbare squad, will go down as one of the most memorable in the club’s recent history due to the high stakes involved and risk of demotion to the Europa League.
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Giroud duly despatched the resulting penalty to complete his hat-trick and send Arsenal into Monday’s draw for the first knock-out stage as they saw out the remainder of the contest with minimal fuss.
