Arsene Wenger says his regrets come from the 1st leg, but that he’s proud of his team as they fought their way to a 2-0 win over Bayern Munich tonight.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said, “We were very, very close tonight. Maybe a few times we were lucky as well, but we had the chance of Gervinho, and there were maybe one or two set-pieces we could have done better.
“But the spirit and the performance was there, and overall we had a great go.
“The regret we have tonight is from the first game. We conceded a very bad goal in the last 15 minutes. If we had lost 2-1 at home, you can see how important that goal is tonight.
“I know these players and I’ve said many times they have a fantastic attitude and spirit. We have the quality.
“Unfortunately, we have to go out of the Champions League, but the positive is, of course, the performance and the spirit.”
And after a confidence boosting win, Wenger sounded a rallying cry as the team head into the final 10 league games of the season and a scrap for a place in next season’s Champions League
“I’m confident that we will give absolutely everything to be back next season. We will keep the basis of this team. The young players who played tonight are doing very well.
“Let’s finish this season well.”
Ten performances like the one we’ve just seen and you wouldn’t rule us out. It’s a tall order, but where there’s life and all that …
We sure do go out in style.
Could we next time progress in style?
Like say stuff Barca in both home and away legs? Yeah, that would be lovely.
When the going gets tough, Kos gets going. Always amazing against the big teams. Just saying.
I doubted him a little but what a performance
kos was good yesterday, but have you really already forgotten the games vs chelsea and man city where he was our worst player? always amazing against the big teams?
If you take his entire Arsenal career as a whole I think you will see the @ chosen one has a point.
He has had fewer chances, a big early injury and the issue of the captain having huge influences on his game this season.
“vs chelsea and man city where he was our worst player”
Either idiot or blind you are. He was not good, but worst? Don’t rewrite history, please.
Yes, he’s amazing against big teams. I wouldn’t class Man City or Chelsea as big teams, just teams with lots of money
on the other hand, chelsea and man city are not big teams, they’re just oil-rich for a while. my apologies.
The irony is that they failed a lot earlier but still have a chance(lol) to win a european trophy!!!!
COYG!! We can do it!
Now I know what he meant by Spirit and mental toughness. Arsenal shown all those qualities today. More of the same please.
And the fans showed great quality too! There were periods of the game where from the TV only Arsenal fans could be heard.
People also always talk about how Wenger never changes the tactics and never has a plan B. But Arsenal played this game perfectly, and very different to how they normally play – they set themselves up very well and deserve credit not just for spirit but performance. If we play like this for the rest of the season we will easily make 4th.
great name
Does robben come off as a bit of a selfish, diving, wasteful (thankfully) bald cunt?. Yes! the answer is yes!
And he looks like Robocop wothout his helmet.
Jenko is a wonderful prospect. Just goes to show how utterly moronic the media can be about a player of only 21 years of age.
even better name
The key now is to peform like that till the end of the season if we do then we will get top 4.
I say Fabrianki in goal and Koz needs to be in the starting line up instead of Verm.
That IMO is a step in the right direction.
I’m going to say that Fabianski in goal will end up like Mannone… ok at first, and then faltering later. More than Fabianski doing anything particularly remarkable (of course other than not making mistakes, which actually is pretty amazing), the credit goes to defensive organization! Similar performance like earlier this year… except that we also built into some decent shapes in counterattacking too! And Koscielny was just ridiculous today… flying everywhere destroying everything… Am I overly excited? I just pray that this show of form, with even Gervinho looking promising, is something that will continue to grow, not only to… Read more »
We know the story with Kos though–flies around everywhere then eventually gets a stupid red card or scores an own goal.
Just as he did in Germany scoring an own goal! Dude
I wouldn’t be so dismissive of ol’Flapianski, before his injury he was starting to look like a decent keeper, then Shzhxehzxny got his chance and took it.
Give the guy a chance.Chessers has been very flaky recently and no guarantee that he was going to be consistent
in the near future.Every player deserves a run particularly after last nights performance.
Its a win win for us. We are not expecting him to have a future with us, though performing like this gives us confidence, provides Szcz with overdue competition/mental break (no matter how commited or driven ou are, everyone eventually needs one regardless the profession). It freshens the team up and shows the players that (in theory) everyone can put in a performance and contribute.
We need to be as positive as possible now until seasons end. Then we will have plenty of time to analyse the flaws of the team.
In the end it was a goal too far ….
The team needed this win to start believing in themselves again. And to believe in one another.
COYG….Now lets haul Spuds back into the pit where they belong
all aboard the arsenal love-in bus 😀 plenty of space, unless you’re a ‘journalist’
The media seems to have intensified in their efforts to kick Wenger out of England and out of football. They are asking those “leading questions” and making inaccurate reports more fervently than ever now, in order to get the players/the manager to perform “self-criticisms” and add weight to the narrative of “Arsenal’s downfall”. Its a very insidious tactic often seen in power struggles in communist governments.
It was incredible arsenal all through.albeit strong nd organised bayern team yet we built on our confidence nd astonish every in europe.come on guners we can do it next year even win it.luv u all…respect wenger’s tactics.wat a great coach!
OOH OOH OOH TO BE OOH TO BE A GOONER
We finally showed the mental strength and great spirit that Arsene blabs on about…. Now if we can show those qualities from the start of games/ties then we would definitely be in a better place (3rd to be exact) at the end of the season
Great effort Arsenal. Made us all proud. The early goal made a big difference. I wish we could play like that all the time.
It wouldn’t be totally unlike us to stumble against Swansea but if we can beat Bayern then an unbeaten run can’t be ruled out either.
So proud of that “we’re just not having this” attitude the team showed. Please keep it going
We’ll lose to Swansea, no bones about it. That’s the way Arsenal operates these days.
Bayern played poorly yet they still had five times the attempts on goal than we did.
But, to think, if the linesman hadn’t wrongly flagged Walcott for offsides…
Don’t teams that usually beat us at home have 5 times less chances than us? It’s called being clinical. You can have 50 shots and still lose 1-0 if the other team puts it in the net.
You’re just moaning for the sake of moaning
Apparently, i’ve been informed by people I indirectly pay to do so that we’ve gone a certain number of years without winning a trophy. Who’d’ve known!! Why have they not told me this before???
I feel next year we could win a lot, no one (bar Sagna) appear to be leaving so I am cautiously optimistic!
Yes, we’ve been through a bit of a transition in the last couple of seasons, including this season, which many have overlooked. It’s been quite chop and change, with many new players coming in. Tonight they showed what they can do when they gel properly, and next season this should only get more consistent. You’ll notice that the season we went unbeaten the only significant change to the squad in the summer was the introduction of 1 player – Lehmann. In the last 3-4 we’ve had ridiculous amounts going in and out. However I don’t think Sagna leaving would be… Read more »
kudos 2 all arsenal fans 9ice performarce let continue like dis am sure you of top four finish gud spirit swansea next by God grace torteham nd chelsea wil fall
thumbs down not because I am a grammar hound, but that…”sentence”… does not make sense. Also is it that much harder to press one more key and write ‘this’ instead of ‘dis’. Keep it classy arseblog comment section!
On another note I feel that Vermaelen deserves to lose his spot to Koscielny who has played his way back into the team in a big way tonight.
9ice? Are you serious? Idiot.
A 9ice is some kind of Arctic golf club right?
Hopefully Sets up momentum for rest of the season. Approach every game with a winning mentality and steadily as ever move up that league table. W
Whatever wenger told/did with the defence I will not know but hopefully we’ll get more of that kind of performance.
Unfortunatly here in France the cl games are broadcasted on being channel( dubaï owned) so i couldn’t watch the game. We beat a really really good time tonight and away !!. Kos seemed to have a cracker game and hopefully he’ll fill in for vermaelen who needs to get his head right very soon. We went out in style and can keep our heads up
I think Steve Bould made his mark tonight.
Podolski Sklep…..Spot on about Jenkinson his progress has been unprecedented and I think he gets a rough ride from the media AND our fans, to get where this kid has got for his age is nothing short of remarkable….true gooner as well….love his spirit, makes the inevitable departure of Sagna more bearable.
All I want for April 28th is a repeat of tonight’s performance.
… and Judas to get mertesackered.
on April 28th keep Vermallen off the pitch please. He still mistakes Dutch Skunk for his teammate!
IN ARSENE WE TRUST…
WE WILL QUALIFY 4 THE CL AND SHOW MORE SPIRIT AND SUPER QUALITY!!!
COCKOFF U HATERS..
COYG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m very happy with the performance tonight. Even when Bayern were in possession and looking to create chances, I didn’t have the unnerving feeling I had in the first leg (perhaps it was the whole nothing to lose thing and all that?). We looked in control throughout, constantly willing to create opportunities and spread the field the way we used to so effortlessly. A lot of this is probably on account of our going all out in attack, but we showed tonight against a potent opposition that this approach does not necessarily compromise itself defensively. Our defensive problems have been,… Read more »
yea! our defensive problem has been the consistent blunders. we need reliable players with consistency n the tenacity. i know kos had a good game. but, i think he lacks the relaibility/consistency. i hope he proves me wrong. but, i just see him very prone to errors. n per has been shaky ever since i first saw him. n only consistent performer vermaelen has been very poor this season. but, i do think our best option is to get a top quality cb to play alongside vermaelen. he looks the deal to me. just take off the captaincy pressure off… Read more »
Immense performance by the mighty Arsenal. This level of consistency is needed to carry through the rest of the season. But at the same time we need to bolster the squad too. Hate to be that guy just by this one performance doesn’t mean our problems are over. We cant paper over the cracks.
Great performance by Fabianski, Jenko, Ramsey and surprisingly Gervinho.
One of the few games, if not the first, where we have shown composure and concentration for 90mins.
Hate to bring this to up again but the trinity is finally complete this season. Bradford, Blackburn and Bayern
Motivate your troops like you did in Munich Arsene.
We MUST win CL place, can’t think otherwise.
If only we could play like that for the next and remaining games of the season!!!!!!
Jenkinson is a boss
And Gervinho, even though he may have done ok tonight, that doesn’t make up for the rest of the season, he’s been shocking lets be honest. We need to bring a couple of world class players in to complement the good core we have already and push on. We can’t be happy with going out in the 2nd round.
We now have a loser mentaility in the club.
Getting all excited about one game, which resulted in us getting knocked out of another competition.
Sad to see once proud Gooners getting all giddy about being knocked out of the UCL.
And we need to finish above sp*rs otherwise I will have no end of abuse. Keep the faith gooners
I remember the exact opening words on bbc year as well. Brave arsenal go out…. This time, it’s away goals. We score the first within 5 min. N until that lucky header in the 86th minute didn’t really look like scoring. No desire, no urgency, just a nervous jitteriness. We could not make 3 passes in a row the whole game I think. The scoreline tells a totally different story than the match. Ok, the germams were very nervous as well but still they were having chunks of possession and creating lots of goal scoring chances. Not being harsh on… Read more »
Don’t mean to be a doomer, but there’s a lot of truth in this. The 2-0 scoreline flattered us.
Ramsey useless? The guy who made the run that resulted in the first goal? The guy who won the free kick at WHL that resulted in the goal there? Its funny that you slate Rambo then go on to say that Walcott is one of our players that plays with the most urgency when he routinely disappears from games and sometimes shirks his defensive duties, when in fact its Ramsey who is one of our players who plays with the most urgency. Oh and Frimpong is ready to step up next season? I fail to see how that is a… Read more »
urgency in attack! walcott has an attacking mentality, ok all the wingers have that. n he deffo has an edge over most players on pace n can create chances more often than not. ramsey is a cmf i understand but, i wud at least want him to hold possession, pick a decent pass forward, skip past a player, open up space n pick players in space n launch attacks, more like wilshere n caz do consistently. or the barca boys do. n he’s not a dmf either. doesnt have the pace or strength. i must say he does have a… Read more »
*on bbc last year
Don’t stop believin’, just hold on to this feelin?
I’ll show myself out
Alan Shearer can suck it !
Koscielny was a fucking BEAST the way he played, not seen such a commanding cb performance in a long time from an arsenal shirt. As much as it will be awkward dropping the captain vermaelen,its for the good of the team so Wenger should just bite the bullet and tell verm until his form improves,hell be on the bench.
Kos did well because he partners Per. . .they complement each other. TV need to stay on the bench. Fabianski dudnt do that bad either. Szczesny can join TV at the side. AW. . .dont change a winning team. Gibbs if he is ok shld stay too!!
I always Trust the boss,though series of Trophiléss season, lets Hopé the ninth will be Fruitful.
Once again we fall short of an epic record-breaking comeback. Milan last year, Munich this year. One thing is for certain – We have the determination to get into the top 4 if we play as we did today.
Such a good performance today, even though we lost on aggregate, I feel we’ve given ourselves a spring-board to finish the season well.
Hope this win galvanises our team just like the Milan win. A famous victory for arsenal football club this.
And hope we come back for more next season!
This game just highlighted how mentally immature we are in the first team. We perform when a.losing or b.’beaten’ as if any sort of pressure or expectation kills us. We’re like a talented but lazy kid in PE. Great win but ffs lads, stop saving it for ‘comebacks’ be men and take charge of matches!
true that! the players dont turn up when needed. they needed to step up after the first goal, a second before half time wud have really put bayern under pressure, but instead the whole game was like a lazy affair. we need more of players like jenki, caz n jack. arteta, ramsey simply lack the quality. ok i’m saying the same thing again. but, the scoreline doesnt show the actual picture. we never looked like we narrowly missed out. it was like we have lost, we r just seeing the game out. even after the 2nd goal, the urgency wasnt… Read more »
The lads can be proud of that performance, we just need to play like that the rest of the season and we’ll get forth. Leave it on the fields lads! Pity we didn’t show up in the first leg otherwise we would have taken the tie. Lots of heart and passion, clean sheet and good communication.
like always wenger makes his side stronger in the end of the season…
Very pleased with the performance even though we went out. But I believe the scoreline was as it is because Bayern didn’t turn up on the night… not to take anything away from us. Kos is definitely MOTM, and Jenks and Rosicky deserve a mention as well. We do lack a lot in the centre of midfield though, I don’t think Ramsey is up to it, he lacks that extra little bit of quality needed for this level but does play with heart to be fair to him. Arteta can do a job if he stays discipline but feel we… Read more »
Can I just give some credit to the manager. He was Decisive on the Wilshire injury thing. Did well with squad management especially putting in fabianski and Kos. Good subs, I thought he would mess it up leaving on Walcott ( who was a passenger again) but ger and the ox added some energy and an offensive outlet. He nearly got the result and seems keen to turn his eye to the last ten games.
This should be the back four for the rest of the season now. They were all fantastic.
It will be nice to have Sagna/Verminator/Monreal on the bench! Actual squad depth.
Rosicky is a fine replacement for Wilshere and will only get better with a run of games.
I just hope that Giroud will stop whinging and just get on with things. Make more runs, chance it at the back post, follow in looking for the rebound.