On the face of things this was another terrible night on the road for Arsenal Football Club, as the first defeat to Leicester City with Arsene Wenger as our manager left the Gunners still without a single league point on the road in 2016.
A record like that does not come about from just being unlucky, but was the Frenchman right to blame his side’s poor fortune for this latest defeat away from the Emirates Stadium, as reported by Sky Sports last night? The boss felt there was plenty to be positive about after the 10 men of Arsenal fought well and even scored a deserved equaliser before a penalty and another late goal killed off the game.
He said, “I felt we played with great spirit and we were unlucky to play with 10 men and to be caught with a non-penalty.”
Do you agree with Wenger? Both the sending off and the penalty could easily have not been given, but do you think it was bad luck? I think the referee may have been influenced by the vocal home crowd but that should not affect his decisions. He certainly seemed reluctant to book their players while often going for the harshest response to any transgression by an Arsenal player, but is that just the way it goes. Do Arsenal really need to be lucky to get anything from an away game.
Wenger was also full of praise for the team performance against strong opposition, though, and suggested that it is a very good sign for the future.
He said, “I felt we played with great spirit and we were unlucky to play with 10 men and to be caught with a non-penalty,” said the Frenchman, who watched the Gunners lose a seventh away game in a row for the first time since January 1966.
“Overall, though, there was enough room for us to win the game, so I would like to praise the spirit of my team tonight, even if we lost the game.
“Overall, though, there was enough room for us to win the game, so I would like to praise the spirit of my team tonight, even if we lost the game.
“Even with 10 against 11 we looked like we could score at any moment and at 1-1 we had two situations with three against two, but we complicated our game a bit.
“We had the chances to score and win the game. The fact that we had to chase the game with 10 men made it very open.
“I would like to say that this team has shown tonight they have a future and hopefully they can show that next season.”
Do you agree Gooners?
Bob.