Brazilian bonus cheers Wenger

Arsenal FC manager Arsène Wenger admitted his surprise at the scoring touch of midfield player Gilberto after the Brazilian FIFA World Cup winner had scored for the second time in as many UEFA Champions League games to lead his side to a 1-0 victory over AJ Auxerre at the Stade Abbé Deschamps to take command of Group A.

Surprise package
“I didn't expect him to score so many goals but when you buy players you sometimes get pleasant surprises,” Wenger said. “That is one of those surprises. I also didn't expect him to be so good in the air. I did not know how often he would get into the box as he has more of a defensive role with his national team.”

Gunners take control
After an evenly-contested first-half, Gilberto, scorer of the fastest goal in Champions League history in the 4-0 defeat of PSV Eindhoven last week, struck again three minutes after the break to put the Gunners in control.

Cygan praised
With Pascal Cygan, making his first Champions League start for Arsenal, and Sol Campbell in commanding form at the back, Auxerre offered little in the second half until, with seven minutes to play, Benjani Mwaruwari’s scorching drive was tipped on to the bar by David Seaman. “I thought Pascal Cygan played very well,” Wenger said. “He was composed, intelligent and had an outstanding game.

Patience
“It was more of a tactical game, a little bit like chess but I must give a lot of credit to my team as they know how to win even when it is a little bit less fluent. They have that mental strength to know that sometimes you need to be patient. Both the defence and the defensive midfield players were outstanding even if we were a little bit less fresh physically.”

Henry OK
Arsenal’s main concern was an injury to Thierry Henry who hobbled off after 58 minutes with a hamstring strain, but the French striker allayed fears by declaring that he should be fit for Sunday’s Premiership tie with Sunderland AFC. “I felt my hamstring and decided not to take any risks. I'm hoping to be all right for Sunday,” Henry said. Wenger added: “It was very minor.”

'Deserved win'
The victory was Arsenal’s third straight in Group A, taking them three points clear of BV Borussia Dortmund and on course for a place in the second froup stage. “We played very well tonight and now we just need one point to go through,” Arsenal midfield player Patrick Vieira said. “We knew it would be very difficult to win, but we deserved it.”

Auxerre on the brink
AJ Auxerre have just the one point from three games and face elimination should results go against them on Matchday Four when they travel to Highbury to play Arsenal.

Missed chance
Auxerre coach Guy Roux was left to rue Benjani’s missed chance late in the second half, but was satisfied with his side’s performance. “We played very well in the first half and in the second half we should have scored,” he said. “It will be tough to qualify for the next round now, but I’m pleased with the way we played.”