Arsenal close gap on Chelsea ahead of Bridge battle
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger hailed the resolve shown by his team to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to four points yesterday, ahead of next week’s showdown between the pair at Stamford Bridge.
Wenger saw his team outplayed at White Hart Lane, yet their victory coupled with Chelsea’s surprise defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday means the Gunners can close the gap on Mourinho’s league leaders to one point should they triumph in the Frenchman’s 1,000th game at the helm.
Wenger said: “Overall, we know to stay in the race it was vital to win. As long as we didn’t score the second goal it was a very tight game, but in the end for us it’s three massive points.
“Tottenham played well, they were absolutely up for it and we needed some special resilience to get away with it.
“It gets us a bit closer to Chelsea and makes the game next week even more interesting. We are back to four points, we have a game in hand.”
Tomas Rosicky’s superbly struck second-minute goal was just his third of the campaign for Arsenal.
And despite having worked with Rosicky for seven seasons, Wenger admitted his surprise at the quality of the strike.
He added: “It will go in my collection of great goals. He is not a typical goalscorer. He surprised everybody. It’s an unbelievable goal. It’s one of the top goals we’ve scored this season.”