Wenger: Blackburn thumping ´encouraging´

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed his team after their ‘encouraging’ 7-1 thumping of Blackburn in the Premier League on Saturday.

Robin van Persie bagged a hat-trick while a double from promising youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and a late Thierry Henry strike helped the Gunners to an easy win against a 10-man Rovers outfit.

Wenger was pleased with the fact the thrashing came at the end of a four-match winless streak in the league.

“We had a crisis of results for a while, but the way we played was never really bad,” Wenger told Sky Sports.

“We had some good games and lost, but in the last week we played well against Villa and at Bolton.”

“We played well today and overall it is encouraging. We had a comfortable day today and got the three points that we needed.”

Wenger was happiest with the efforts of van Persie and Oxlade-Chamberlain who were a constant threat throughout the match.

“We have spoken many times about how exceptional he (Robin) is and he has shown that again today,” he said.

“Three months ago he (Oxlade-Chamberlain) was not ready, in my opinion. He had shown talent, but suddenly in the last two or three months he has stepped up.”

“You can see that in every game he becomes more important and his personality comes out in the game.”

Blackburn manager Steve Kean had no complaints about the decision that saw defender Gael Givet sent off after 43 minutes but admitted it changed the course of the match.

“It was a tough afternoon,” Kean said.

“When you come here and try to compete against Arsenal with 11 men it’s tough enough. The ref didn’t have a tough decision to make. We all know the rules now, if you leave the ground with two feet that type of challenge will not be accepted any longer. That made it very difficult for us.”

Kean has backed his struggling side to respond from the defeat ahead of a winnable home fixture against Queens Park Rangers in seven days time.

“There’s been many times this season were we’ve had disappointing results but we’ve always had a reaction,” he said.

“If we have had a disappointing result, we’ve bounced back. It’s a horrible afternoon but we will have to respond. They know they’ve let themselves down but we will be bouncing back.”