Gallas - The important thing was to qualify
As far as
William Gallas is concerned, Wednesday night's dour draw in Prague was a case of 'mission accomplished'.
Slavia were thrashed 7-0 at Emirates Stadium a fortnight ago but a much-changed Arsenal side couldn't find a way past their hosts in the Czech capital. Nonetheless, a point was enough to secure the 2006 finalists a place in the last 16 of the Champions League with two group games to spare. Arsenal's captain was perfectly satisfied with that.
"The most important thing was to qualify," said Gallas. "It was not easy, we played against a strong team and it was very difficult for us to play how we play normally but the more important thing was to qualify.
"I told them [the young players] before the game to be careful, because it would be a difficult match. We won 7-0 at home, so we knew they were going to defend and have a big match in front of their own fans. I told them to be ready for the fight and they did the job very well.
"The young guys are ready, and have shown their character. It was not easy to play in this stadium, it was cold, but I feel they are ready.
"We are very happy [to qualify], but it is not finished yet as we have two more games to play in the Champions League. We have to be ready for the big fight again when we play Sevilla because they lost to us and will now want to beat us in their stadium.
"But for now we can rest a little bit and think about the Premier League."
The Premier League campaign continues with a trip to Reading on Monday night and Arsenal will probably need a positive result to go into the international break at the top of the table. Gallas believes the confidence of Arsenal's unbeaten start to the season will carry them through.
"It is important when you play at the top of the league that you gain confidence," he said. "That is good for the next game, because if you are not confident sometimes a young team can go down a little bit.
"Before the season started I knew the players would be ready for the big fight and try to be at the top. What is good is that everybody can play and can show how strong they are. We just want to win, win, win and be ready to fight. That is good for the team."
[ Thursday, November 08, 2007]
Rosicky and Toure likely to return for Reading game
Arsenal are set to welcome back
Kolo Toure and
Tomas Rosicky for the trip to Reading on Monday.
Both missed the midweek draw at Slavia Prague with minor knocks. Toure hurt his calf against Manchester United while Rosicky was out with a groin problem.
Philippe Senderos has returned to training after his back injury but will not be risked. However he and
Robin van Persie (knee) are still on course to be available for the visit of Wigan to Emirates Stadium on November 24.
“It looks like Kolo and Tomas will recover,” Arsène Wenger told Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon. “Senderos will not be completely competitive for this game even though he is back in full training. So the only real injury in the squad is Robin van Persie.”
Arsenal TV Online subscribers will be able to see the entire video interview with Arsène Wenger on Friday morning. In it, the Frenchman talks about: the draw at Slavia, winning the group, his rotation policies, going for the Premier League and the Champions League together, signing someone in the January transfer window, Reading, Monday night games and the 26-game unbeaten run.