Wenger - 'Strength within the team got us through'

Last updated : 21 February 2004 By Chris Parry
We showed great resolve after conceding an early goal due to some casual play from Patrick Vieira, but nevertheless we came back and won it.

Arsene Wenger said afterwards:

"For us the most important thing was to win here - and you could see how much we wanted to win, the players knew today has an influence on the championship.

"At 1-0 we found the strength to bounce back and felt we were focused to keep the result. The players wanted to win this game so much and it's the strength within the team that got us through."

"Patrick is not known as a goalscorer but he lost control in the build-up to their goal and that made him angry - it made him say 'I want to repair that and go forward' - and today he finished very well."

"We are not over-confident now but last season I felt we were probably too nervous. This season we want to keep going and win every game - but the lead is not big enough to say it's over.

"It's far from over. There is still a long way to go - but it's good to be in the front seat."

You bet it is Boss!