Wenger hails Gunners display
By Tom Adams - Created on 26 Sep 2006
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Arsene Wenger says he has witnessed his Arsenal team growing
stronger and stronger after they beat Porto 2-0 in a composed UEFA
Champions League display.
The Gunners have shrugged off their mixed early form to record four
wins in a row, two of which have come in Europe as the London side
top Group G after two games.
Thierry Henry and Alexander Hleb scored the goals at Emirates
Stadium as Arsenal defeated the Portuguese champions, and the
Frenchman, celebrating ten years as Gunners boss this week, was
pleased to see his side grow in stature again.
"[I'm] very pleased because we always looked in control of the game
against a good Porto team," Wenger told Sky Sports News.
"I felt we had a very good team performance and now we are stronger
after every game.
"We scored two great goals and one was unusual because it was a
header, but it was a great goal and the second was a good
finish."
Henry scored an identical goal to his strike against Sheffield
United at the weekend, and Wenger stated that his captain could
make more use of his aerial presence after nodding home another
rare header.
"In my opinion not enough," Wenger added when asked if Henry scored
enough with his head.
"Because I think he could score a header in every game and much
more.
"But you discover something about your players and now we see he is
a great player with his head and not just his feet."
The win on Tuesday night was another important step for the London
side as they attempt to undo the hurt of losing to Barcelona in
last season's final, and Wenger admitted that the 2-1 defeat in
Paris was proving to be a motivational tool for his young
side.
"We want to of course transform that frustration of the final into
more motivation and for the moment it works.
"We have a knitted squad and a knitted quality and we need to keep
the desire and competitiveness high."
Porto coach Jesualdo Ferreira urged his team to improve after
taking one point from two games following a draw with CSKA Moscow
in their first outing.
"Arsenal are in fact a very strong team," said Ferreira.
"They proved that in the Champions League and in the English
Championship.
"There are a lot of things we can improve.
"These defeats are never good or positive, and now we are going to
give a better performance.
"When we play these more demanding matches, things complicate
themselves and the team shows some fragilities."
