Van Persie wins Wenger acclaim

Arsène Wenger, Arsenal manager
Van Persie's contribution really pleased me tonight. When he gets the ball on his left foot he looks very dangerous and is a handful for defences. I brought Van Persie on for Thierry Henry because although Thierry was showing great hunger to play, he has only just come back from injury and we have an important league match on Saturday. In general I was happy with our play going forwards although I felt we looked vulnerable on set-pieces. Overall, though, I am very satisfied and qualifying for the last 16 means that we can now concentrate on improving our position in the Premiership. We will need to adapt our play for the next stage of the competition. A different type of game is needed and I feel defending takes on far more importance.

Stanislav Griga, Sparta coach
We really didn't have enough of the play to trouble Arsenal. It was difficult getting the ball off them because they are a top side. However, I thought we played much better in the second half and created some chances without being able to find the net. We are now relying on other results going our way if we are to claim third position. It is still possible for us but it will be very hard.

Thierry Henry, Arsenal striker
For the first time in a long while we have managed to qualify for the knockout stages early and it feels great. The competition is wide open this year and we can now relax and try to get through our last two group matches. I was happy with my goal and the way I played but my substitution was pre-planned and I should be fit for our next match on Saturday.