29th October, 2011
Arsene Wenger saluted Arsenal’s spirit as the Gunners twice came from behind to secure a remarkable 5-3 win at Chelsea on Saturday.
Wenger’s side trailed two goals from Frank Lampard and John Terry but Robin van Persie led the revival with a hat-trick, with further goals from Andre Santos and Theo Walcott demolishing Chelsea on their home turf at Stamford Bridge.
SuperSport.com reports that after a miserable start to the season, Wenger insists Arsenal are showing signs of finding their feet and this result, their eighth win in nine matches in all competitions, was especially pleasing for the Gunners boss.
“It was fantastic to watch, both teams went for it,” Wenger said. “In the second half I felt we were completely dominating the game and created chance after chance.
“Overall we have shown quality and mental strength as well. To go 2-1 down and come out the way we did shows great resolve in the team.
“I thought we looked fragile in defence in the first half but we looked dangerous going forward.
“We achieved the target of winning a big game away from home and did it with style, but we have to keep our feet on the ground and focus on another big game on Tuesday (against Marseille in the Champions League).
“That’s the football we want to play. You always think you can get rid of the defensive mistakes we had in the first half.”
Third-placed Chelsea missed a chance to close the gap on leaders Manchester City and Blues manager Andre Villas-Boas felt the turning point came when Juan Mata was unable to convert an opportunity to put his side 4-3 up.
“The decisive moment might have been when Mata was free on goal and misses the chance to go 4-3 ahead,” Villas-Boas said.
“We’ve seen some great open games recently between the top teams and this is one more. We will have to reflect on the mistakes we made and there are a couple of things we can improve, but the commitment and desire is there.
“We must evolve. It’s a loss against a big team picking up form, it’s two defeats in a row and we have to get things right.”