Wenger: 'It was a convincing comeback against a good side'

Last updated : 22 November 2006 By Chris Parry
He says:

"We will do it without him. Of course it was a blow. We wanted to go to Portugal with Thierry, but now we will go and do it without him. I'm sure both teams will fight for a win but if it is a draw then neither need be disappointed."

He went on to talk about the positive contribution of Theo Walcott:

"He will play more and more now because we have so many games. When he came on he gave an injection of power and pace - especially after he moved from the left to the right."

"It was a convincing comeback against a good side. It will convince the players we can come back from a goal down to win here. The team refused to accept defeat and never, at any time felt sorry for themselves after going behind and then hitting the bar and post.

"Hamburg are better than their league position in Germany because my scouts have seen them give some impressive performances.

"We were a little bit sideways in the first half but after half-time we were more direct. In these matches the last 10 or 15 minutes and can make a big difference and we mastered Hamburg physically in the end. I was always confident about that."