Arsenal ‘Were Not Cautious Enough’ – Wenger
Arsene Wenger believes that his side overcommitted itself to attack in Tuesday night’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund and paid the price.
At 1-1. the game seemed to be heading for a draw, but the Gunners surged forward in search of a second goal and were caught exposed at back. Robert Lewandowski’s volley in the 82nd minute sealed all three points for the German side and ended Arsenal’s 12-match unbeaten run.
At the end of the game, the Arsenal boss told Sky Sports: “It’s difficult to take because I would agree that we were maybe not at our most fluent tonight going forward, but at that moment we were on top. We lost the game because we maybe wanted so much to win it that we forgot that if you cannot win it, don’t lose it. That’s what is most annoying because we put a lot of effort in.
“We started hesitant. At the end of the day, we went 1-0 down and when you don’t start well it is difficult to get back into the game. But we did well and in the second half we were on top of it. We just forgot to be cautious. We were not cautious enough and we paid for it.”
The outcomes of Matchday 3 mean that in Group F, three teams – including Arsenal – have six points each. When asked if the Dortmund defeat has made qualification a little difficult for them, Wenger replied: “It will take three points away from home now.”
Klopp Delighted, Says Dortmund Are Back
Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp believes his side gained a huge result by beating Arsenal FC 2-1 at the Emirates on Tuesday, and they are now back in the hunt for a spot in the knockout stages.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s opener was cancelled out by Olivier Giroud’s volley before Robert Lewandowski’s winner made sure the Germans left for home with all three points in the bag.
In the post-match interview with Sky Sports, Klopp – who watched the entire game from the stands – revealed what the win meant to his side. He said: “It’s a big step for us. Now we are back in the race, that’s the most important message. I think most people thought it would be close, but the winner will be Arsenal. There were some moments in the game when it could be like this. We had one or two really close situations, lucky situations for us – when Mats (Hummels) was on the line and other things.
“But we were playing in London, it’s a really hard game for us. But my team was very concentrated from the first moment, they did a better start in the game and made a better start in the second half. Then the match got more open, but that’s normal. We didn’t come here to dominate Arsenal in London, we came here to get a result – and that’s what we did.”
Wilshere Promises to ‘Bounce Back’
Jack Wilshere is confident that Arsenal FC’s 2-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund won’t affect his team’s positive momentum, and they will ‘bounce back’ straightaway from that setback.
Commenting after the game, the 21-year-old midfielder said: “They are a good team. They came here and they showed that. They moved the ball around well, they are difficult to break down, but we had our chances – Santi (Cazorla) hit the bar and we had a few more. They hit us on the break and they nicked a goal, but it was a good goal and we’ll bounce back.”
Napoli’s win over Marseille in the group’s other fixture means that all top three teams now have six points each. On this situation, Wilshere added: “Very tight, very interesting. Napoli won tonight, which makes it even more interesting. We’re all on six heading into the last three games, so it’s all to play for and we know what we have to do now.”
Wilshere failed to finish the game due to an ankle injury and was taken off in the 58th minute, but he has assured that it’s nothing serious. “I’m alright,” he said. “I just jarred my ankle. I have done it before and it’s painful for the first minutes or so, then you can run it off and I’m alright at the minute.”
Rooney Wanted Ozil at United
Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Wayne Rooney asked him to sign then Werder Bremen playmaker Mesut Ozil for Manchester United in 2010.
In an excerpt from his latest book titled My Autobiography, the former United manager recalled how Rooney told him to pursue Ozil and how he was then put in his place for making such demands.
“Wayne said that we should have pursued Mesut Ozil, who had joined Real Madrid from Werder Bremen,” Ferguson wrote.
The former Everton star was quickly reminded that suggesting the club’s transfer targets was not his job, and he should stick to just performing on the football field.
United missed out on Ozil for a second time this summer when he joined Arsenal FC for £42.5million.
This image is provided courtesy of www.mirrorfootball.co.uk