Gallas goal fails to dampen Semin's satisfaction

FC Dynamo Kyiv coach Yuri Semin maintained he was "happy" with his team's performance and the "high level of football" they produced in the Group G fixture, despite William Gallas cancelling out Ismaël Bangoura's penalty two minutes from time to deny the Ukrainians all three points. Semin's counterpart, Arsène Wenger, admitted his "frustration" at Arsenal's inability to take their chances in a game which the French manager felt was "there for the taking".

Yuri Semin, Dynamo coach
If before the game we were told we would draw against such a team as Arsenal, we would be happy. Now that the victory was so close, I feel a bit disappointed with the result but I am very happy with our performance and the good start in the [UEFA] Champions League. I think we produced a high level of football. We made a mistake and such teams as Arsenal punish you. [Late in the game] they forced us to defend deep. They staked everything introducing a striker and played with four men up front. They had the ball and pressed us so we had to drop deep and move Ayila Yussuf into defence. I am not ready to talk about what we failed to do in the match but I can say once more that I am very happy with our display.

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
This game was a mixture of frustration and relief – frustration because it should have been over at half-time as we created clear-cut chances in the first half, relief because with three minutes to go we were 1-0 down. I felt our level dropped in the second half and we did not create as many chances as we would have liked to. When we equalised there was no game any more – we were on top and they were very tired, but the game was finished because of the interruptions and injuries. We could feel the game was there for the taking but we had no opportunity to play. We feel we lost two points today. I believe William Gallas is highly committed and he always responds well. Once you are 1-0 down against a team defending so much and so well you need special character and he is the one of the players who has shown that. I think Dynamo played with great spirit and were organised, defending every ball. They did not look really dangerous but were difficult to beat.