Wenger looks at positives after frustrating Liverpool draw

Arsenal were undone by a late Liverpool equalizer through Joe Allen after coming from behind twice at Anfield last night, but with Man City also being held to a draw the Gunners haven’t lost much in the race for the title. Although our failure to hold on the lead could be considered to be two points lost, Arsene Wenger thinks that the team must only be looking at the positives from the night.

Wenger said after the game: “I’m frustrated by the result but not by the performance even if we were a bit apprehensive. I feel in the first 20 minutes we were a bit on the back foot and we came back in a convincing way. At 2-1 down we have shown character and scored after 2-2 and 3-2. Frustration comes from the fact that I think at 3-2, we had three situations where we should have made it 4-2 and we made a bad decision.

“That is the frustration tonight and the fact we conceded a goal in the last minute. That can happen in England but it was a game played with two teams that gave absolutely everything and we have shown again great character tonight and come away with a point, and if you look at the recent results it shows you that everywhere it is very even and very difficult for everybody.”

“They need to transform the frustration they have in the dressing room at the moment to even more motivation for the next game. There is a lot of positives in the game and there is more positives than negatives in the game. I think what happened tonight should strengthen their belief that they have a big part to play in this league.”

Giroud was credited with two of the goals (although really the second was an own goal by Mignolet) and he had a host of other chances to put the ball in the net, but Wenger was more than pleased with the French striker’s performance against a strong physical Liverpool defence. “He had more chances but it was a positive performance overall. It was not easy for him many times and he was exposed to a very physical battle up front and had to protect the ball and fight against the centre backs at long balls. He was very precious for us tonight.”

Well that is the first of three tough away games and we are still top of the League (only just!) so lets hope the players continue feeling positive and make up for the lost points against Stoke at the weekend….

Onwards and Upwards!

Listen to Wenger express his frustration in the after-match interview….

Interview courtesy of AudioBoom

Tags Giroud Liverpool Wenger

14 Comments

  1. Yes I am bit disappointed by the draw. It is definitely 2 points dropped .
    But on a positive note Campbell and Giroud was excellent. We are missing Sanchez at the moment. Sanchez and Campbell on the wings will really make us devastating force.
    The draw means away at stoke is a must win game for us. If we manage to win that on Sunday against stoke then this 2 points loss can be covered.
    I hope the team responds well and win the next match

    1. You are correct about Walcott, he was the weak link. Also Ramsey really needs to get back to his 2012-13 self where he was doing the basic work intelligently. He is too much driven by the fame he got in 2013-14 season with scoring all those goals. All the Liverpool pressure in the initial 20 mins could have been avoided had he kept his cool and stayed back. I think we miss Santi a lot as well. Flamini is doing a great job in place of Coquelin. If Elneny is available for Stoke, i think he should get a run at CM and Ramsey should again be shunted out wide.

      1. @Goonsquad8
        Nacho is the unsung hero most matches, because as long as Theo is plays on the left Nacho is left alone to defend. And he holds it down well…

  2. The main positive is
    that Man City drew.
    This 3 game run was
    City’s chance to bridge the gap.
    They had 2 homes and one away game.
    Arsenal had 2 away and one home all tough games.
    Now we both have one home and one away
    and we are still 3 points ahead.
    So Arsenal has taken another important step
    toward winning the Premiership.
    I think Arsenal are Champions elect
    and will win the EPL with 5 games to spare.

    1. I agree on the fact that we should be happy city dropped two points at home to an average Everton while we fought a hard draw with Liverpool away from home.I don’t think we will win the bpl with 5 weeks to spare.it might go down to the wire. At the start of season few people were expecting us to challenge for the title. But we are on top and right in the race.a point at anfield is not a bad result and from the way we went behind twice its not two points dropped.for me its a fair point.

  3. Our biggest problem last night was the lack of protection in front of the back four. Flamini was invisible most of the game. We are starting to see just how important Le Coq is for us. Not taking anything away from Liverpool though, Klopp had the perfect tactic against us and I think a draw is a fair result for both teams.

    Another frustrating element of the game was how we couldn’t capitalize on their defensive mistakes…Sakho gave the ball away countless times in dangerous areas, which we kept squandering…a more ruthless team would have made them pay.

    1. @Big Gun
      Flame was not invisible. Ramsey left him too exposed by bombing forward when he should have held his position. LFC ran through our midfield at will because of that…

    2. Disagree with you on Flamini. He was doing whatever he could, the problem was Ramsey. Coquelin has been amazing but it also comes down to the fact that Santi helps him very well. Ramsey has to start performing his defensive duties otherwise we’ll concede stupid goals.

    3. It is sad that a human mind always see what it wants to see not reality on the ground. Trying to blame the midfielders for the result is very pathetic. The first goal was down to Theo’s attempt to dribble out of the box and losing the ball which left very other player wrong footed. The second goal was more down to quality finish than poor defending by Arsenal. The third goal was a high ball into the box, an aimless header by Benteke that found Allen who made a rare and exceptional finish. That happens in such games of high intensity and commitment. Stop moaning for once and be happy about the result.

      1. Liverpool had so much space in the middle of the park…way too much room which allowed them to put immense pressure on us. You cannot tell me you didn’t notice this. Liverpool’s strikers were able to challenge our CB’s one on one on several occasions…when that happens it means there is a lack of defensive duty in the midfield. Not moaning at all, just telling it how it is – Flamini is finished and so it Arteta. If Coquelin played last night we would have been much tighter in the midfield, because unlike Flamini, Coquelin’s positional awareness is better allowing players like Ramsey to go forward if necessary. Flamini, as much as I admire his passion, it leads him out of position. Just because he runs around doesn’t mean he is contributing to the team. I hardly saw Flamini make any vital interceptions or even off the ball marking – the stuff we see Coquelin do on a regular basis.

  4. Arteta needs to be sent to retirement immediately after his no show. Arsenal made negative changes and some how injury hit Liverpool get the draw where this was supposed to be a statement of intent. Chambers would have been better but arteta?

  5. It was a great performance and result by Arsenal. What pisses me off in the aftermath of the match are some disrespectful and brainless comments by so called Arsenal fans here and elsewhere. They are groping in the darkness to try and find reason to vilify some players, manager, and the team they purport to support. Unfortunate as the third goal was, you cannot fault the midfielders for the goal. A high ball into the penalty box, an aimless header by Benteke, and a rare exceptional finish by Joe Allen, that is what happens to give justice to an entertaining match and committed performance from two teams. Lets focus on the Stoke City game.

    In the meantime Arsenal are on top!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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