Arsene Wenger's view about Arsenal wins 2-1 against MU

Wenger: We showed our quality and our spirit

Dear Supporter,

I feel it was a very important result on Saturday because I can imagine what would have happened if we had lost.

Mathematically it was very important for us to stay close to the top and to show what kind of determination, spirit and mental attitude we have. We went out there thinking that we will win no matter what happens. No matter what happens on the pitch we will keep going and that is what we did.

I didn't doubt the spirit of my players. I acknowledged that we made some mistakes, especially against Tottenham, but I never questioned the spirit, quality or ability to play for the championship.

There is only one thing in our job and that is to go on the football pitch and show how much you want it, show quality on the pitch - and spirit - and that is what we did. I believe above all today it was a fantastic football game because both teams played with the right spirit.

We won against, for me, a great Man United side and the difference was maybe we took our chances early on and they didn't. After we scored the second goal we did hang on but tried to score the third goal on the counter-attack. We couldn't do that and that is why the game remained very tight until the end.

Samir Nasri scored our goals and he can finish with his right foot or left foot. He has a lot of pace and power and I encourage him to go into the final third. He was more of a playmaker in France who gave the ball and took it back but I believe that with his pace he can penetrate in the final third and he will score plenty of goals for us.

Nicklas Bendtner had an outstanding game. It shows how this job can change because on Wednesday he was not especially on his best form and three days later he produced a quality performance. We showed that we have the quality in our squad, even though it is questioned so many times. We showed that no matter who plays we have the spirit.

When the fourth official showed six minutes of stoppage time I was a bit surprised. I asked him if he was sure because I have never played six minutes at the end of a game.

I personally would have preferred it if my players had taken the ball to the corner flag. I prefer that to passing the ball around in our own half with three minutes to go. We would prefer to have a positive attitude in the other half of the pitch. I want them first to be in the other half of the pitch and then as close to the corner flag as possible.

We have been criticised recently but I believe that, apart from Stoke, we went to Bolton and Blackburn and we won in a convincing way. We had one accident at Stoke and after it provoked hysteria. After the 0-0 against Fenerbahce we still have eight points in the Champions League and no one else has more apart from Juventus who have 10.

It is difficult sometimes to understand why everybody became so critical so suddenly. But hopefully we answered a few critics on Saturday.

Thanks for your support.
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Arsène Wenger