Arsene Wenger said he did not think it was a gamble to recall fit-again Freddie Ljungberg for the Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund.

The Swedish international, who had not played since the World Cup, scored the Gunners' second goal in a 2-0 victory against the German champions - and Wenger said he knew Ljungberg would be fit and motivated.

He said: "In fairness he worked so hard with our fitness coach so he was ready physically. Knowing the motivation of Freddie that was okay, so it was a small gamble, but Freddie is such a fighter and a
winner."

"He did not know he was going to play until this morning and he was a bit surprised, but he responded well and in fact, he got stronger and stronger as the match went on.

"He is an important player for us and it was a bonus for him to come back tonight."

And Wenger was pleased with the way his side set about breaking down a resilient and determined Dortmund team.

"We were patient and we showed a lot of maturity. We saw the team has learned a lot," he said.

"We always looked like scoring. It was a case of not conceding a stupid goal and I always thought we would win it.

"They didn't give us any space and they were highly concentrated on defending well. We needed to find that bit of class and space to score a goal.

"We can always score goals with the pace we have on the pitch with the outstanding quality of the players on the pitch."