Arsene Wenger praised Reading's positive approach after Arsenal's 2-1 win at Emirates Stadium.
Gilberto Silva's penalty, and Julio Baptista's prodded finish, secured The Gunners the points before Cesc Fabregas scored a late own goal.
Arsenal boss Wenger has been frustrated by the tactics of many visitors to the Emirates this season, but offered a tribute to the beaten Royals.
"We played a good game and Reading as well - they were one of the few teams that came here and really tried to play," Wenger told Sky Sports News.
"They made the game interesting, but we could have killed the game before that.
"Credit to them, they were positive and were dangerous. Physically they were very strong and they played in a very intelligent way.
"It needed a very good performance to beat them."
After a week in which Wenger has been highly critical of The Football Association, the Frenchman was not regretting his comments.
He added: "You do not want to offend somebody and sometimes my language is not subtle enough to catch all the subtleties of the English language.
"I always try to be honest and say what I think.
"I have a lot to say about that, but I will save that for The FA and I will certainly try to hear what they say."