Jack Wilshere hails ‘great’ Arsenal character after battling win

Jack Wilshere praised Arsenal’s character and persistence after the Gunners were made to work hard for their 2-0 win over Cardiff on Wednesday.

Substitute Nicklas Bendtener opened the scoring in the 89th minute at Emirates Stadium, before Theo Walcott chipped home a second moments later to help keep Arsenal top of the Premier League.

And midfielder Wilshere was delighted by the spirit Arsene Wenger’s men showed against the visitors.

“It was nice, all we wanted today was the three points,” Wilshere told Arsenal’s website. “We tried and tried in the first half and it didn’t work, and in the second half we got a bit frustrated but [the goals] came in the end.

Our away form has been brilliant, so we have to make the Emirates a fortress

Jack Wilshere

“If we had only got a point out of the game we would have been very disappointed. It’s always nice to win a game like that and take it into the next one – it gives us all a little boost.

“We kept digging away and showed great character. It’s tough when you’re on top but keep missing chances but then Nik came on and fair play to him because he’s worked hard in training and got the goal for us. That gave us some breathing space and then Theo got the second one.”

Arsenal remain one point clear at the top of the Premier League table after the win but Wilshere refused to get carried away with the Gunners’ position in the table.

“It’s very open – we saw City win earlier in the day, and then Chelsea and Liverpool also won so we just have to keep winning ourselves,” he said.

“We just have to worry about ourselves, we can’t worry about anyone else. But there is still a long way to go, teams are going to drop points.

“This is the tough part of the season – January, February and March – and then it comes into April and towards the end, so we have to focus on ourselves and our own form. Our away form has been brilliant, so we have to make the Emirates a fortress.”