London, Oct 21 (IANS) Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger believes his club will draw great strength from the manner of their rousing 2-0 Champions League win over German football giants Bayern Munich.
Having lost their opening Group F matches against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos, defeat to the runaway Bundesliga leaders would have ended Arsenal’s hopes of progressing to the knockout stages of Europe’s premier competition.
But Olivier Giroud capitalised on Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s uncharacteristic mistake before Mesut Ozil sealed the points in the dying seconds, with their French boss delighted with his team’s unity.
“Overall we have beaten a very strong team. We kept a clean sheet as well,” Wenger said at the post-match press conference after the win over Bayern on Tuesday.
“The team focus and dynamic was there. Tonight we showed (what) we needed. It can strengthen our belief and those around us. It is important we have good balance between attacking and defending,” the Frenchman added.
Wenger hailed Giroud as “a winner” following the striker’s decisive impact three minutes after replacing Theo Walcott, but also reserved praise for Hector Bellerin.
The full-back came through the gruelling assignment of marking the dazzling Douglas Costa to set-up Ozil’s stoppage-time goal and Wenger was impressed with what he saw.
“It was an interesting fight between Costa and Hector. He has that desire to be on top of his opponent,” Wenger said.
