Roux praises Auxerre party-poopers

AJ Auxerre coach Guy Roux hailed his side's impressive 2-1 victory over Arsenal FC in their UEFA Champions League Group A match at Highbury as a groundbreaking result. "I am very happy," said the veteran coach. "This is an important result because it is the first time we have won in England."

Against all odds
Having lost 3-0 at Olympique Lyonnais on Saturday, the pre-match odds looked stacked against Roux's side. However, first-half goals from Olivier Kapo and Khalilou Fadiga proved enough to see the visitors through, despite Arsenal pulling a goal back through Nigerian international striker Nwankwo Kanu after the break.

'No magic'
"We played a lot better than we did in the last game," said Roux. "But there was no magic to the result. It was the end of the game that surprised me most. The ball-to-feet, continental style of Arsenal had disappeared. The way you win is secondary to the result, but I felt that we managed to control the game reasonably well after scoring the two goals."

Wenger downbeat
In contrast, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger was understandably downbeat. The game had marked his 53rd birthday, but Roux's visitors had spoiled the party.

'Physically sharp'
"We must give credit to Auxerre. They started well because physically they were quite sharp. We paid the price for this at the beginning of the game. We dominated in the second half and we gave absolutely everything. But we finished a little jaded in the final 20 minutes."

Draw boosts hopes
Auxerre's hopes of progressing were further boosted by PSV Eindhoven holding BV Borussia Dortmund to a 1-1 draw in the other Group A encounter. They are now three points behind Dortmund, with two games left to play.

'We were a bit down'
After their 2-1 defeat at Everton FC on Saturday, Arsenal have now lost two games in succession for the first time in a year. Asked if the result at the weekend had affected the team's performance, Wenger replied: "Mentally, we were a bit down at the start of the game."

No need to panic
However, Wenger remains confident his side will progress to the second group stage. "There is no basic reason to be alarmist," he said. "You have periods like these in a season. I believe this team is strong mentally and will recover from tonight. It's very important that we bounce back now, that's the biggest thing. We still need a point to qualify. So nothing has changed from the start of the game."

Henry philosophical
Arsenal striker Thierry Henry felt the team had simply been unlucky, and that, despite playing well, the game had slipped away from them. “Sometimes it happens to us. Sometimes it happens to another team. That’s just football,” he concluded.