Most importantly, we were able to win. In the first half we had a few dangerous chances but could not score. Fortunately, we were able to do what we needed to do in the second half and continue the fight for first place. 

Was it hard to wait for your chance on the bench? 

No, this is a normal situation in football. After 9 years at Chelsea, I've changed just about everything and I needed time to adapt. I hope that the team will do well now.

It seemed that today Zenit played quicker than in previous matches. Why was this?

The coach has his own vision for the game that he wants us to implement that on the pitch. The main thing is that we won, but in the next game it will again be a difficult match, which we also need to win.

Did you pay attention to the Spartak result? 

We cannot pay attention to our opponents too much, we must try to win it ourselves. Yes, you can expect that your opponent will stumble somewhere, but in the next 2-3 matches, we need to be sure to win. 
 
You were playing against Federico Rasic. Can you share your experiences of this confrontation?

Today it was very important not to concede, we did this despite the fact that Arsenal had a few chances.

There will now be a pause for the international games. Is this useful for Zenit?
 
It does not matter, because we still can't change it. The main thing for us is to use the 4-5 days that we have ahead of the game with Rubin to prepare for it. Everyone knows how Rubin play and this is now one of the most important games of the season.