We can still improve, says cautious Arsene Wenger after Porto thrasing
ARSENE Wenger says his side must continue to improve and eradicate any weak moments after seeing them dismantle Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night, writes Jem Maidment. The Gunners secured a place in the last eight for the third successive y
ARSENE Wenger says his side must continue to improve and eradicate any "weak moments" after seeing them dismantle Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night, writes Jem Maidment.
The Gunners secured a place in the last eight for the third successive year with an outstanding 5-0 victory at Emirates Stadium, winning 6-2 on aggregate.
The Arsenal manager said: "It is never easy to be in the top eight in Europe. The negative side is you only have good teams now - Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea - so it will be difficult.
"At the beginning of the season, nobody expected this team to be where we are, but we showed we have mental strength, we have good desire and good quality.
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"I believe it is more important on our side to continue to improve - there are still some weak moments in the game we can deal with better, so before we talk about Barcelona or Manchester United it is important we continue to improve, then we have a chance."
He also reserved praise for under-fire striker Nicklas Bendtner, who silenced his critics with a hat-trick, completing his treble in injury-time with a cool penalty after two first half strikes.
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"Nicklas had not lost the confidence, it remains relatively stable. He came back with good focus and the same belief - that is one of his strengths as well," added Wenger.
Despite the Dane's treble, the goal of the night was scored by Samir Nasri, who weaved his way through the Porto rearguard before firing home from an acute angle.
Nasri was replacing the injured Cesc Fabregas and afterwards Denilson said: "That was the most amazing goal in the Champions League this season for me.
"Samir has come and played in Cesc's position and showed he is very important for us."
Emmanuel Eboue was Arsenal's other scorer, running 70 yards to latch on to Andrey Arshavin's neat pass.