2012-09-23: Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal

Wenger: 'A point was the minimum we deserved'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I was pleased with Sunday's result because a point was the minimum we deserved when you consider what we put into the game.

I was happy also with the quality of our display and our spirit, but I was also a bit frustrated because I feel there was an opportunity to pick up all three points. We had early chances and very late chances, especially when Gervinho missed the target from the edge of the box.

Overall I hope that a result like this will reinforce our belief and confidence and reassure us about our potential in this league.

We conceded a goal from a corner and I take that criticism on board, but it's worth noting that Manchester City are the team who score more goals than anyone else from set pieces.

At the other end of the pitch it is true that we missed chances, and it's important to be clinical in games like this, but I believe that will come. When you have the basic quality that we showed on Sunday, the rest can improve.

Vito Mannone had another good game in goal. He looks very solid. He made a little mistake on the corner for Man City's goal, but I am happy that it didn't affect his game after that. I like what he is doing.

I can confirm that Thomas Vermaelen did not play because he had 'flu so we left him at home.

Laurent Koscielny had a great game and stepped in very well. We have a number of classy centre backs, and it is a very difficult choice. No matter who is left out, they will feel disappointed. But I will rotate the centre backs and take into consideration the strikers we will face.

Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger

2012-09-15: Arsenal 6 - 1 Southampton

Wenger: I'm excited by our team play'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I was delighted with the high level of our performance on Saturday, especially in the first half.

We had a good combination of pace, speed in our passing, quick combinations, and the movement was excellent. We were a bit lucky as well because Southampton conceded two own goals, but overall I think it was another step forward from what we showed at Liverpool.

Gervinho scored twice and I thought he did well in a more central role. The decision to try him there was based on what I saw during our pre-season tour of Asia. I liked what Gervinho did against Manchester City so it was in the back of my mind.

It is an interesting role for him because he is such a great mover and he is so quick, so when he is central and gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him.

Santi Cazorla had another fine game - he is just a pleasure to watch. He typifies what Spain's midfielders are like today - he is technically perfect, he has great vision and a great team attitude.

Lukas Podolski is getting better and better as well. He has 101 caps for Germany so we know he is quality and when we play as we did on Saturday it makes it easier for him to adapt. He is physically strong and he is a fantastic finisher as he showed with the free-kick.

I gave Francis Coquelin a chance in midfield because, although Abou Diaby could have played, I didn't want to risk him. Francis showed his qualities and that's why I didn't go into the market again - because of him, because of Frimpong, Wilshere and Diaby.

We have a big week coming up now because we go on Tuesday to Montpellier and then on Sunday we play at Man City. We face Chelsea the weekend after so we will know more about the strength of our team after those games.

What I do know is that there is a positive energy in my team, a desire to play well together, and real team play. It is very exciting.

Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger

2012-09-02: Liverpool 0 - 2 Arsenal

Wenger: 'We were dominant in midfield'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I was very pleased with the quality of our performance at Liverpool, both offensively and defensively.

In our first two games we showed some potential but we lacked spark going forward and we are getting that now. It was a good win, there is strong potential in this squad and a positive energy. That is something we can build on.

We won at Liverpool last season but today I felt we were more composed, we dominated in midfield and that gave us stability. We scored first as well and that makes a difference. I still feel that Liverpool are a good team because they deserved to beat Manchester City.

It was good to see the new signings doing well. Everybody understood very quickly that Santi Cazorla would not take six months to settle and Lukas Podolski is deadly when there is a chance like the one he had - we can see that in training. Olivier Giroud needs a goal, but as long as the team wins we know that will come.

We kept our third straight clean sheet as well and everybody is working very hard defensively because they want to keep the run going. Football is always a good lesson in humility because we had our No 1 and No 2 goalkeepers out and still went to Stoke and Liverpool and earned clean sheets. That is down to our work rate, spirit and organisation.

Abou Diaby was many people's man of the match and he is such an asset for us. He is a tremendous football player, he has absolutely everything you want from a midfielder. He hasn't played for a year but he had a good pre-season where we had him playing 45 minutes every three days and now he looks in good shape. There is more to come from him.

I was worried about Abou when he was injured but I always stood behind him because not only is he a fantastic football player, he is a fantastic guy as well. Let's hope he survives the international break because the France national team travel a lot, they play two games in four days.

Our midfield looks very strong at the moment. We have Arteta, Cazorla, Diaby, Wilshere, Coquelin, Rosicky, Ramsey and others. There is a fight for places and there is quality. When you think about our squad we had Walcott, Gervinho, Santos and Ramsey on the bench and we had players at home as well. They will all play their part.

Thanks for your support.

Arsène Wenger