A bit in and out: Arsene Wenger gives his reaction after Brighton win

Wenger also set a goal target for Alex Iwobi, hit out at distracted players against Liverpool, and praised his side for a positive week

Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal lacked fluency against Brighton but have had a very positive week.

Arsenal defeated Brighton 2-0 thanks to goals from Nacho Monreal and Alex Iwobi.

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It was their third win in a week, having defeated West Brom on Monday and BATE Borisov on Thursday, and although it wasn’t the most eye-catching of Arsenal performances, Wenger was pleased to have gotten another three points.

“Offensively, we were a bit in and out. I think the fluency was sometimes there, sometimes not,” Wenger said.

“They never came out, and maybe we didn’t play at a high enough pace to score more goals. They defended well as well and intercepted many dangerous balls around their box.

“In the end, we knew it’d be a very testing week. We had two home games and one long away trip in the Europa League but overall we won the three games and that’s very positive.”

Wenger was asked about the performance Iwobi. The Nigerian international scored his first goal of the season and the manager expects more goals from him this season.

“That’s what you want from him,” he said.

“He’s a midfielder who’s creative, and therefore what we want from him is goals.

“A player in his position must score 10 goals a season and assist. In the rest of the game he contributes very well in the build-up and overall I’m happy that he gets goals.”

The win was Arsenal’s sixth from their last seven games, with the one game they didn’t win being an admirable 0-0 draw against Chelsea. Our form has improved a lot since the 4-0 drubbing at Liverpool, a game Wenger felt was played under “special circumstances”.

“Overall, I believe we played the game at Liverpool under special circumstances and after people go always to definite conclusions,” he said.

“Even on a bad day, which we acknowledged, nothing is permanent in life and we always have room to improve and that’s what we did.

“I believe as well that in any season we have moments where it’s difficult, and the quality of the season is decided by how well the team responds, united or not, motivated or not, and that’s what we did.”

When pressed to explain what those special circumstances were, Wenger said: “The transfer window. Some players had half their head out, half their head in, and as well it was just before an international break.”

Today marked 21 years since Arsene Wenger became manager of Arsenal. He was asked to identify one thing he had learned in that time.

“I would say humility.”