Schalke delight after silencing misfiring Arsenal

Ibrahim Afellay and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar were delighted after FC Schalke 04 continued a memorable week that started with derby victory over Borussia Dortmund by beating Arsenal FC 2-0 in Group B. They became the first non-English side to prevail at the home of the Gunners in 46 attempts in the UEFA Champions League, a record stretching back to 2003. It perhaps underlines the difficulties Arsène Wenger's team are enduring, and Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta spoke of a desire to remain united and come back stronger when the clubs meet again in two weeks.

Ibrahim Afellay, Schalke midfielder
It is always nice to score in the Champions League, especially in a big stadium like this. We've beaten Arsenal 2-0 and that provides a very good feeling. We were away to Arsenal and they are a very good team. They saw a lot of the ball, but didn't create many chances and we did. I think we controlled the second half.

The mood in the camp is very positive now after two very big games. First we won in Dortmund and that is a big derby in Germany. Then to play here against Arsenal in the Champions League and win leaves a very good feeling in the team.

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Schalke striker
My goal was important; it put us 1-0 up though there was quite a lot of time left. It is an important win. Today it went well and hopefully the next few games will follow in the same vein, but the main thing is we won. Everybody is obviously happy because we have seven points now, but we must go on now. We have three more matches and the next one could be key.

Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal defender
We are struggling to score goals at the moment, then at the end we let in two. It is really disappointing we lost at home [to non-English oppostion] for the first time in nine years in the Champions League.

We only had one shot. That is usually our strength technically; creating a lot of chances to score a lot of goals. At the moment it is a little bit difficult, but we have to stay positive and work hard day in, day out. In the end I'm positive we will come back strong.

We go to Schalke in two weeks, so we can get points there if we can. A lot can happen. Things go badly, but we can improve really quickly. That is football and I'm staying positive. The only thing is to stay focused and work hard. It is really important to stay together as a team. The results aren't great at the moment, but in these times you have to stay together and get stronger as a group.

Mikel Arteta, Arsenal midfielder
It was a really tough game and there wasn't a big difference between the sides. We conceded a sloppy goal because you can't leave Huntelaar alone in the penalty area. It makes it very tough for us because we have to go to Germany and get the points. We have to put this night behind us and bounce back after two defeats.