ARSENE Wenger admitted it was something of a relief to have secured victory over a determined Bolton side after Arsenal were frustrated for long spells at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.
The visitors - who could only field three outfield players on the substitutes' bench because of injury and suspensions - were six minutes from securing a battling goalless draw when substitute Nicklas Bendtner fired in a volley at the far post.
Following Aston Villa's win over West Brom, victory was crucial for the Gunners as they continue to play catch up on the top four.
The win moved them level on points with Manchester United - who host Chelsea tomorrow and already have two games in hand.
Wenger said: "We are already swimming enough against the stream not to drop points against Bolton.
"We were solid defensively and now we have won 1-0 three times, which is a good basis.
"We must just take it game by game because every match is difficult."
Wenger admitted breaking down Bolton had proved difficult, with more than an hour played before the home side created their first decent chance.
"It was a difficult game with them having two deep lines," he said.
"We could not find a way through and maybe our passing was not incisive enough.
"They were strong in the challenge and their only focus was to defend well.
"It looked like it could be 0-0 as we never looked like conceding, but we did not create many chances and we finished in a good old-fashioned 4-2-4 to win the game."
It was a first goal since the end of November for Bendtner, who turns 21 next week, and Wenger believes the big Dane has a promising future.
"He had injury problems with his ankle and it affected his game, but now in training he looks sharp again," said Wenger.
"He had some difficult periods, but now slowly he is getting back to where he needs to be."
Wenger feels his squad - missing key men like captain Cesc Fabregas, England winger Theo Walcott and Czech international Tomas Rosicky - can soon be back to their "creative" best.
However, the Gunners manager remained coy on the likelihood of Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin arriving in a big-money move this month.
Wenger said: "When you have situations like today and have injuries on the offensive side, that can be a problem.
"We are looking and as soon as we find, we will tell everyone."
Bolton boss Gary Megson, meanwhile, defended his team's approach - claiming they were down to the bare bones.
"We played against one of the best teams in the world today, who have quality everywhere, but we wanted to press the ball, keep everything in front of us and not leave space behind and we did okay in the main," said Megson, who lost forward Johan Elmander to injury in the first half.
"We haven't got any other players, but it is not just the number of players you have, it is the quality of the XI you put out and the gamble we took was on bodies.
"In the main we have got away with it, but not today.
"Eight of the 18 pros we have got were unavailable and we lost two more today.
"We will have to keep them in cotton wool next week because we have not got anyone else and we have know that it will take three or four transfer windows to strengthen because we do not have the finances to do it in one hit."
Following Aston Villa's win over West Brom, victory was crucial for the Gunners as they continue to play catch up on the top four.
The win moved them level on points with Manchester United - who host Chelsea tomorrow and already have two games in hand.
Wenger said: "We are already swimming enough against the stream not to drop points against Bolton.
"We were solid defensively and now we have won 1-0 three times, which is a good basis.
"We must just take it game by game because every match is difficult."
Wenger admitted breaking down Bolton had proved difficult, with more than an hour played before the home side created their first decent chance.
"It was a difficult game with them having two deep lines," he said.
"We could not find a way through and maybe our passing was not incisive enough.
"They were strong in the challenge and their only focus was to defend well.
"It looked like it could be 0-0 as we never looked like conceding, but we did not create many chances and we finished in a good old-fashioned 4-2-4 to win the game."
It was a first goal since the end of November for Bendtner, who turns 21 next week, and Wenger believes the big Dane has a promising future.
"He had injury problems with his ankle and it affected his game, but now in training he looks sharp again," said Wenger.
"He had some difficult periods, but now slowly he is getting back to where he needs to be."
Wenger feels his squad - missing key men like captain Cesc Fabregas, England winger Theo Walcott and Czech international Tomas Rosicky - can soon be back to their "creative" best.
However, the Gunners manager remained coy on the likelihood of Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin arriving in a big-money move this month.
Wenger said: "When you have situations like today and have injuries on the offensive side, that can be a problem.
"We are looking and as soon as we find, we will tell everyone."
Bolton boss Gary Megson, meanwhile, defended his team's approach - claiming they were down to the bare bones.
"We played against one of the best teams in the world today, who have quality everywhere, but we wanted to press the ball, keep everything in front of us and not leave space behind and we did okay in the main," said Megson, who lost forward Johan Elmander to injury in the first half.
"We haven't got any other players, but it is not just the number of players you have, it is the quality of the XI you put out and the gamble we took was on bodies.
"In the main we have got away with it, but not today.
"Eight of the 18 pros we have got were unavailable and we lost two more today.
"We will have to keep them in cotton wool next week because we have not got anyone else and we have know that it will take three or four transfer windows to strengthen because we do not have the finances to do it in one hit."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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