Walcott praises Arsenal attitude

Theo Walcott said Arsenal FC had sent their UEFA Champions League rivals a "great message" after confirming their place in the last 16 as Group H winners with a 2-0 victory over R. Standard de Liège.

Bouncing back
First-half goals from midfielders Samir Nasri and Denilson settled the encounter, a welcome return to form for Arsène Wenger's title-chasing side, who suffered a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland AFC on Saturday. "We've bounced back from the disappointment at the weekend and showed great attitude to win," said Walcott, who appeared as a second-half substitute in place of Nasri. "I thought we could have scored a few more goals, but it was a great performance. We just had to get a point today, but to get two goals and three points sends a great message to everyone out there."

Proud Denilson
Brazilian midfielder Denilson, who was playing his first match since September because of a back injury, was predictably delighted with the night's work. "It's brilliant for me, for the team. I'm proud," he said. "It was important for me because I'm always practising my shooting during training. Arsène Wenger said 'Try, try' so tonight I had confidence, I shot and I scored."

Creating chances
Bacary Sagna, who watched from the bench, could see the improvement since the weekend. "After a loss it's always difficult to come back stronger but we did it tonight … We stayed concentrated and we were able to create the kind of chances we didn't manage at the weekend." Victory will give an injury-hit Arsenal side a lift before this weekend's crunch match at home to Premier League leaders and fellow UEFA Champions League hopefuls Chelsea FC. "It's a big game on Sunday," said Walcott, whose side are third in the table and eight points off the pace. "Chelsea are doing very well in the Premier League but as long as we play like we did tonight and take our chances, I'm sure we'll be fine."