Alexis Sanchez get off the mark for
Arsenal quickly.
The Chile international scored his first goal for
the club in Wednesday night's tense Champions
League play-off victory over Besiktas to settle
the tie.
Wilshere has been impressed with the impact
the 25-year-old has made since signing and is
happy with the options Arsenal have in attack.
"I think he needed that first goal," Wilshere told
Arsenal Player. "He's looked sharp in the games
but if you're a striker, all you want to do is
score goals.
"It was a good finish. He had a few chances and
he's got great movement off the ball. He gives
us midfielders something a bit different, going
in behind.
"He can play [as a central striker], we've also
got Theo coming back and we've got Sanogo on
the bench, who has improved so much. We've
got good options up there."
Despite creating a number of clear
opportunities after the break, Arsenal were
indebted to a resolute defensive showing after
Mathieu Debuchy was sent off with 15
minutes remaining.
"We had a few chances," Wilshere said. "Alexis
had a great chance and then Chambo had
another great chance. At half-time, we said that
we had to keep attacking because one goal
would have knocked us out.
"In an ideal world, we would have put them in
and been comfortable but we're never going to
do it the easy way. We're in there and that's all
that matters.
"I thought we were in control until the last 20
minutes. I know it was 1-0 but I felt
comfortable and I think the team felt
comfortable and we made a few chances as
well.
"It wasn't until Mathieu went off that they
caused us a problem. But I think we dealt with
it well. We dealt with crosses and the defence
was great. Myself, Mathieu [Flamini] and Santi
were in there working hard too. We showed
great team spirit and hopefully we can continue
that.
"We defended well as a unit. Our main
principles are to defend well as a team. We
know how to play football - that's our main
strength. We know that we will create chances,
we always have done and hopefully we can take
that into the group stages.
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We know that we will create chances, we
always have done and hopefully we can
take that into the group stages
"It was a good finish. He had a few chances and
he's got great movement off the ball. He gives
us midfielders something a bit different, going
in behind.
"He can play [as a central striker], we've also
got Theo coming back and we've got Sanogo on
the bench, who has improved so much. We've
got good options up there."
Despite creating a number of clear
opportunities after the break, Arsenal were
indebted to a resolute defensive showing after
Mathieu Debuchy was sent off with 15
minutes remaining.
"We had a few chances," Wilshere said. "Alexis
had a great chance and then Chambo had
another great chance. At half-time, we said that
we had to keep attacking because one goal
would have knocked us out.
"In an ideal world, we would have put them in
and been comfortable but we're never going to
do it the easy way. We're in there and that's all
that matters.
"I thought we were in control until the last 20
minutes. I know it was 1-0 but I felt
comfortable and I think the team felt
comfortable and we made a few chances as
well.
"It wasn't until Mathieu went off that they
caused us a problem. But I think we dealt with
it well. We dealt with crosses and the defence
was great. Myself, Mathieu [Flamini] and Santi
were in there working hard too. We showed
great team spirit and hopefully we can continue
that.
"We defended well as a unit. Our main
principles are to defend well as a team. We
know how to play football - that's our main
strength. We know that we will create chances,
we always have done and hopefully we can take
that into the group stages.
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