Arsene Wenger was obviously happy with his team in a comprehensive 5-0 drubbing of Aston Villa at the Emirates today, but more importantly he says he’s happy with how things played out in the second half, and that his side was able to demoralize a team he believes still has spirit.
[MORE: Game recap from Arsenal’s 5-0 thrashing of Aston Villa]
“The second goal was a big blow for them, and from then on it was much easier,” Wenger said. “They’d begun [the second half] well. It was a different result for them to absorb because when you’re in that position it’s difficult to take 5-0, but if I was their manager it was not all negative in that game, and they showed in that game many positives. The final 20 minutes were different of course, but I still think they gave us a good fight.”
Wenger was all smiles through his postmatch interview, as one would imagine, but he still was somewhat frustrated with his team’s first half finishing, which on another day could have been costly having gone into halftime just 1-0 up despite domination across the first 45 minutes.
However, winning 5-0 without Alexis Sanchez was also something that pleased Wenger. “We are a bit spoiled when you have Ozil coming back, Walcott coming back, players of their caliber can make you score goals as well.”