Wenger praises 'technically perfect' Van Persie

Last updated : 30 September 2006 By Chris Parry
He said:

"It was quite unbelievable - a goal of a lifetime. Nobody expected that. I did not see anybody in the box and then suddenly Van Persie arrives. Technically it was perfect, with full pace and power. I felt the ball would go over the bar at the start, then suddenly it finished in the top corner."

"That is football - if I had substituted him, people would have said yes I did the right thing, if he got sent off after people would have said I was stupid. That shows that as a manager you need luck as well because I kept him on and he scored two goals."

"Charlton fought very hard and when you go away after a Champions League game and are 1-0 down, you need some quality to win. It was an entertaining game. We could have finished it off a few times, but Charlton could also have come back with a few minutes to go and the header from Hasselbaink. When I saw it was him, I thought it was 2-2."

"My team is very hungry.To come here, be 1-0 down and then get back, up the tempo and win, that tells you a lot about the hunger of this group."

"We have maintained the momentum, with five games on the trot, but the negative thing is the interruption. When the players come back, they do not have the same focus on the club as they did before they went away. Then the Champions League match in Moscow comes straight after the international week."