Schalke faith moves mountains against Arsenal

Lewis Holtby told UEFA.com FC Schalke 04 had produced "an astonishing game" in drawing 2-2 at home to Arsenal FC to inch towards the knockout stages. The German international enthused about the character his team had shown in recovering from a two-goal deficit to register a point which keeps them in pole position in Group B. Team-mate Roman Neustädter insisted the hosts' spirited display had not been fully rewarded, while Arsenal's Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott were happy to return to London with "a good point".

Lewis Holtby, Schalke midfielder
At the end, we were a little bit relieved, but if you look at the whole 90 minutes, and especially the first 20 minutes, I think we had an astonishing game. We were 2-0 down, and got back to 2-2. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had a chance in the second half, but I think 2-2 is alright. We showed our character to come back from 2-0 down, which was great.

Our team spirit is high, and we knew that if we got a goal before half-time, we had a chance. It was a really good goal by Klaas. We showed that we weren't down, and that we could turn things round. But at the end, when you see Theo Walcott one-on-one with Lars Unnerstall – it was a great save by the goalkeeper – it could have been worse.

We always believe, we have quality players on the pitch who can score a goal at any time. Olympiacos won today, which makes it back-to-back wins for them. We'll be really focused for that game, and if we get a win we're through. Let's keep our fingers crossed, keep working hard, and achieve our goal of going through to the next stage.

Roman Neustädter, Schalke midfielder
It's a real shame that we weren't rewarded for our performance today. We dictated the game, and had Arsenal with their backs to the wall at the end. We were unlucky with both of their goals. I have to accept the blame for the first one. But we are still in a very good position to get out of the group, and I'm convinced that we will reach the knockout stages.

Lukas Podolski, Arsenal forward
I think 2-2 is a fair result. Schalke's goal just before the break was something of a blow for us. They applied a lot of pressure in the second half, and that's why I think both teams deserved a point. We're still strong enough to get out of the group – that remains our objective. Schalke are a very, very good team. They work very well when they don't have the ball, and have fantastic players going forward.

Theo Walcott, Arsenal forward
We dug deep. Before the game, we would probably have taken a point so this is a good result. Just at the end, it got caught under my feet, that's why I couldn't work it for my favourite finish. It's just one of those things. You have just got to deal with that. I didn't wake up great yesterday. I didn't have voice at all yesterday – it's coming back a little bit today – but it's just great to be back playing with the guys, and that's all I want to do now. When you come to a difficult place to play a good team, who had beaten us at home, you've got to show character. We got the two early goals, though it's a shame we couldn't kill it off. But it's a good point in the end.