Wenger upbeat after Slavia point

SK Slavia Praha coach Karel Jarolím was delighted with the way his side recovered from their emphatic 7-0 defeat by Arsenal FC a fortnight ago to claim a 0-0 draw against the Premier League side and keep their UEFA Champions League Group H qualification hopes alive. The point proved enough to take Arsenal through to the last 16, a fact that left Arsène Wenger satisfied with a "positive" outcome.

Karel Jarolím, Slavia coach
Although Arsenal did not bring their strongest squad, their young players have proven their skills before. Their lineup gave us encouragement though. We wanted to avoid the mistakes we committed in London and we managed it. We did not allow Arsenal to create any chances, and on the contrary, we went closer to claiming victory than they did. It's a pity that [Daniel] Pudil's free-kick was deflected by one of our own players. I would like to thank our fans, who remained loyal despite the disappointing game in London. I am glad that we remain third in the group and kept our chances alive. The result is a very valuable one for us, particularly after the big defeat in London.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
The result is a positive one because we have qualified and did not concede. The defensive performace was good, even if our attacking display was average. Slavia played well in defence after conceding the seven goals in London and our tempo was not high enough to create enough space for chances. I am a little disappointed with our young players, but it's always difficult to win away in the Champions League and I am convinced they will play better next time. As we have qualified I might continue to rotate the team; the lineup will be different again in the next game. Our target is to get first place in the group. It's important we do in terms of who we could play in the knockout stages."