Wenger: 'Our mental strength kept us going'

Last updated : 15 March 2004 By Chris Parry

The rest of his post-match remarks at Ewood Park went like this:

"We looked dangerous in the first half but missed that little spark. We couldn't allow ourselves to get frustrated and get caught on the break, and we kept going in the second half although our legs had gone a bit."

"We have 10 league games left, six at home and four away. I won't rest Thierry at home and physically he can cope - he has immense physical resources even though he was a bit tired today."

"In the past they have played Champions League games and we have thought the players would be tired but they are sharp again."

"It was a difficult game for us - their game plan was to let us have the ball, drop off and don't give us any space. It was a disciplined performance by them. We were not as fluent as we can be and needed to be patient and hope for something special from one of our players and, as so often, Thierry Henry gave us that.

"We wanted it and our mental strength kept us going. We had a very solid defensive performance. Last year we were not able to draw on that kind of performance as often we were a goal down and under pressure."