Dear Arsenal supporter,
It was an important win for us on Saturday. It was tight at the end because we couldn't score the second goal and I feel we became cautious in the second half. Our first half was quite good - we were in control and played well with 11 against 11. In the second half, I felt we wanted to protect the lead and not to make a mistake. The final 10 minutes were really nervy because they started to play direct.
We didn't want to be stupid in the second half. You are under a bit of pressure when you play 11 against 10 - the crowd really got behind Fulham then and it became a different test for us. In the end, we showed fantastic spirit though and that got us through.
I spoke with Olivier Giroud about his red card. He said to me that he slipped at the moment he went for the ball and it's confirmed by the television replays. Having had the chance to review the footage, the Club has decided to appeal the decision with the FA. We will have a verdict from them on Tuesday afternoon.
Sidwell's challenge was in front of me. I think the referee had only the red card to give. Mikel Arteta played the second half but I don't know how much damage the challenge has done. I don't know if he has twisted his ankle a little bit or not. In these kind of things, it's just a question of a fraction of a second. If you are fully on your foot at the moment you get it, you break your leg. If you just ease a bit off you can prevent injury. Maybe that's why he got away with it.
Against Everton it was a very physical game and I feel that physically we were a bit jaded in the second half on Saturday, maybe because we gave a lot on Tuesday night.
We are on a strong run and we go into the next game just focusing on winning that. The next game will be against Manchester United so it's a good challenge for us.
Thanks for your support,
Arsène Wenger
