Arsenal-Udinese: Wenger Hails Szczesny, Gervinho Performances

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger paid tribute to the performances of goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and wideman Gervinho in their 2-1 win over Italian opponents Udinese in the Champions League qualifier on Wednesday. Arsenal battled back from 1-0 down at the end of the first-half, and now go through to the group stages after an aggregate scoreline of 3-1.

Wenger impressed with Arsenal performance

Wenger, talking to reporters after the game, said that Szczesny’s immense penalty save when the scores were locked at 1-1 changed the game, and that Udinese ‘s confidence evaporated after that. He also justified his decision to buy Gervinho and said that a player’s ability is not always related to his price-tag.

On Szczesny, he said-

“Yes, that [penalty save] was a turning point of the game because it was at 1-1. You could see mentally it has an impact on their belief and they were not the same team after they missed the penalty.”

And he also expressed his confidence in Gervinho-

“He was always dangerous. I told you yesterday, and many times, that he will be a big player for us. Sometimes the quality of the player is linked with the transfer amount and it is not always the case.”

Wenger was also impressed by half-time substitute Tomas Rosicky, whose injection of creativity tilted the game in the Gunners’ favour as they dominated the second half. Wenger hailed the Czech midfielder’s introduction and said that he had a great influence on the outcome of the game. He said-

“I felt that we attacked and Udinese played on the counter-attack. I felt that we lacked a little bit of creativity in the middle of the park and needed to be a little bit more creative. Tomas had a big influence in the second half.”

Arsenal now go into the weekend with renewed confidence and vigour to take on reigning champions Manchester United in a match where they are still rank outsiders to win, but they will feel that they have more of a chance after the positive events in midweek. Stay tuned for more.