Arsene Wenger: Aston Villa Win Was the Response Arsenal Needed After Borussia Dortmund Defeat

Arsene Wenger is delighted with Arsenal's win over Aston Villa after the defeat against Borussia Dortmund.

The Gunners lost the opening match of the Champions League 2-0 to the Bundesliga giants away from home. Prior to the Villa fixture, the north London club had one win in the last six matches played in all competitions.

Mesut Ozil had been subjected to a lot of criticism for his under-par performance. However, the German international opened the scoring before assisting Danny Welbeck's first goal for Arsenal.

"It was the response we needed after Tuesday. Aston Villa started quite well and they had one or two dangerous situations, but after that we were in control and we scored three goals in three minutes," Wenger told Arsenal's official website.

"Then in the second half it was a possession game, a controlled game, because they didn't come out too much. Overall it's still a convincing win where [Danny] Welbeck scored, [Mesut] Ozil scored, and that's important as well."

Wenger also admitted that he never considered dropping Ozil from the starting line-up. However, the Frenchman left summer signing Alexis Sanchez out of the playing XI.

The Gunners manager says the Chilean international was rested for the fixture against Villa.

"No, not really, no [on dropping Ozil]. You consider it always, I have many offensive players and you always look to find the right balance and it's not always easy because I gave Sanchez a rest as he played many games," the Arsenal boss stressed.

"We have plenty of experienced players who are not playing at the moment and are top quality. But I felt as well that it was at the point where you have to show him that confidence is there. Ozil showed as well that he can respond when he's under scrutiny."

"Sanchez was rested today and of course he was completely available," Wenger concluded.

Arsenal will face Premier League side Southampton in the Capital One Cup fixture on Tuesday evening at the Emirates.