Arsene Wenger was understandably annoyed by Arsenal’s home defeat against Man United. The Gunners dominated possession but were undone by a farcical own goal. As the team were pushing for the equaliser, Wayne Rooney somehow broke away with absolutely no Arsenal defenders between him and the goal to put the result beyond doubt.
Wenger admitted that he was “surprised” by the lack of defence. “We were 1-0 down and we wanted to desperately come back, and we forgot our principles a little bit,” he said.
“I have to see it again because I was surprised there wasn’t anyone there [in defence]. It was a moment where – especially with such a long injury time – if the game stays 1-0, it gave United some confidence because they just defended after.
“I have a lot of respect for this group because of their great attitude, spirit and energy levels. Maybe the disappointment of being 1-0 down meant everybody wanted to go forward too much.
“Individually they have been really good. At the moment it’s very difficult because we lack a bit of experience in some positions.”
Le Prof refused to blame the players as he felt they did more than enough to win the game, but he was more angry than disappointed. “I wasn’t angry with the players – I have a lot of respect for the energy they put in the game and the spirit they show.
“I’m just angry because the players do not get rewarded and our fans do not get rewarded for the result that was just there for the taking today. We have suffered against United before but we cannot say that we suffered against them today.
“If you look at the number of games recently, the number of shots our opponent has and the number of goals we concede, that is quite a continuity at the moment.”
I guess that last remark means that United only had two shots on target but ended up with two goals scored! It still seems incredible to me that Arsenal have dominated so many games completely this season, but rarely come away with all three points, if any at all. No wonder Wenger is angry…..