Wenger proud of Arsenal response

Arsene Wenger praised Arsenal’s intensity in banishing memories of their opening day defeat to West Ham by securing a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Wenger and his players came in for criticism after the 2-0 loss at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, but the Frenchman was happy to see a reaction at Selhurst Park.

An Olivier Giroud volley and Damien Delaney’s own goal sealed victory for Arsenal and Wenger felt his team’s display was one befitting a side set to challenge for the Premier League title.

“I’m very pleased with the three points,” he told Sky Sports. “If we had gone two games and zero points it would be absolutely difficult and we knew this would be a tricky one. 

“Last week we had a bit of a stroll and thought we would win the game. Today we played real Premier League football from the first minute to the last.

“With the ambitions we have made you have to have full commitment and we had that.”

Giroud echoed Wenger’s sentiments after opening his account for the season, but rued a host of wasted opportunities to extend their advantage further.

He added: “We really wanted to play our game, but even though we won we could have killed game [earlier].

“We could have scored more goals with better choices, but we are very happy to get three points, that is the main thing for the team.”