He said:
"We have got a lot of criticism and there is only one way to answer it, with the quality of the performance on the pitch. We had eight players under 21 out there but they did very well. It was a great team performance and the boys can be very proud."
"We showed a lot of character in a very difficult game and there were some performances that are very encouraging. We also had a lot of quality and effiecency as well so I am very pleased. You know you are going to get a physical battle with a lot of experience but we handled it well."
"We have got a lot of criticism and there is only one way to answer it, with the quality of the performance on the pitch. We had eight players under 21 out there but they did very well. It was a great team performance and the boys can be very proud."
"We showed a lot of character in a very difficult game and there were some performances that are very encouraging. We also had a lot of quality and effiecency as well so I am very pleased. You know you are going to get a physical battle with a lot of experience but we handled it well."
He went on to praise debutant Emmanuel Adebayour, who opened his Arsenal account with an opportunist first half goal. He said:
"He brought a great presence to us. He added size to the team and that was important in this kind of game. It was about winning challenges in the air. I think Thierry took advantage of his presence as well."