Pat Rice has reflected on his night in the Arsenal hotseat and stressed that the draw against Borussia Dortmund reflected one point gained, rather than two points lost for the Gunners, despite the conceding of a late equaliser.
Comparing Ivan Perisic’s volley to the goal scored by Tottenham Hotspur’s Danny Rose in a defeat at White Hart Lane two seasons ago, Arsene Wenger’s longstanding number two also spoke about how he went about organising the team in Germany, his substitution decisions and why he now feels there is a good atmosphere in the Arsenal dressing-room.
On enjoying the occasion…
I’d rather Mr. Wenger had have been there because obviously he’s the boss and he’s better than that [being the boss] than me. I’m just good at backing him up.
On his half-time team talk being easier thanks to the lead…
Absolutely. It’s strange not being in contact with the boss but we’ve got experience and we did what we thought was right. We were playing against a very good side tonight. We just said that we had to be a bit better in the middle of the park. We gave the ball away a little too much, which was unusual for us. The goal that they got though was something similar to the one scored by Danny Rose at Tottenham; you could hit that shot 50 times and 50 times it would go over the bar. It was a great goal.
On the substitutions being planned…
No [they weren’t planned], you just look at the players and see if some of them are getting tired and do you need fresh blood. We just did what we felt was right. It’s just funny not getting anything from the boss, that’s all.
On the draw being a good result…
Absolutely, you can’t be a bad side if you win the German title. No chance. Dortmund proved that this evening. Even when they were a goal down they kept coming and coming and coming. It’s a high quality skill to be able to hold them off, thankfully all of our boys did that.
On it being a new era at Arsenal…
It feels from my point of view that the season is just starting because things are quieting down. There’s a buzz in the dressing-room, because there was uncertainty before hand. People are now looking forward to playing and the players who have come in, contrary to what other people think, are really good players.
5 Cool points for Pat Rice.
That man knows his tins alright.
I love Patrice
so so SOLID
I thought Yossi and Song were amazing a++++ Yossi really impressed me and Song needs to learn his role! No more runs in the box be all the wall you can be.
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
Na$ri is not a very nice person
He certainly knows his place. Does he doff his cap when ‘the boss’ comes in each morning?
Well done fellas…. You did well tonight. You were a good defensive team… and the German goal was a great one… and nothing the Pole in Goal could do. You were solid and I am very proud… Small Baby steps… we will get better. JW19 the days are slow… we need you to get better quickly… you are young and your body should heal faster… so come on. Song and Kosser immense in second half. Yossi ran more miles than Theo – who really should work harder… Gervinho was surrounded by three Dortmund players… not much he could do. We… Read more »
He said “bloody good players” lol
maybe if he’d staggered the double substitution, it’d been a better managerial tactical approach to wind down the game and maybe stop that last min goal….but overall have to be satisfied i guess
Patty Rulezzzz !!!
it was a really scary 2nd half. if it werent for SZCZ and song we would of leaked 2 more goals. i still think we are really bad off the ball though. when dortmund didn’t have the ball they try to dipossess us as quick as possible but when dortmund has the ball we cautiously stand there trying to read the next move.
Why is chamak getting game time? He supposed to be putting the defenders under pressure when he came on instead of strolling around!
Spot on and theo should take a look at yossi ran his heart out
It’s so good that there is a good atmospehere in the camp now! It has been severely missed since we lost to Birmingham in the Carling cup! We have got to get behind the team even if they are not playing well! that’s what makes great fans and which makes a great club!! The defensive side of the team seems to be getting some consistency which we really need, byut we cant let offence standards slip either!
Come on Arsenal!!
The atmousphere among the players and fans was crap long before the cup final, we threw away a 4 goal lead at Newcastle before the Birmingham game.
[…] After match reaction saw Pat Rice taking the place of Arsene Wenger. Pat believes that this draw was a good result as well. […]
[…] be sure to have a read of this. Speaking after the match, Pat Rice says that there’s a real buzz in the dressing room at the moment, what with all the players who have come in recently and the recent results. I have […]