Arsene Wenger says Arsenal are low on confidence and that they are not able to compete with Manchester City after his players endured a second 3-0 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s runaway league leaders in the space of five days.
Having lost in the final of the Carabao Cup on Sunday, the Gunners came into this evening’s clash as underdogs. They quickly lived up to their billing, conceding three times before the break on a bitterly cold evening at a half-empty Emirates Stadium.
All in all, it was very depressing if you’re of the Arsenal persuasion. After the game, the boss played up the effort put in by his players but accepted that they are going through difficulties at the moment. Here’s what he said to the BBC…
On the performance…
I feel we put a lot of effort in tonight, physically certainly, it’s our highest game of the season and them as well. We played with low confidence and you could see that at the start of the game. We paid for it, they’re a quality team who took advantage of that.
After that, we maintained the two-goal [deficit] and we needed of course the penalty to go in to have a little chance to come back, that was another negative in the second half. In the end, we lost against a team that is certainly the best in the country.
On his decision to play a back four being a gamble…
Yes, it was a gamble. Maybe, many people thought we were too cautious in the [Carabao Cup] final. We played at home tonight, we wanted to start strong, to focus on attacking because the confidence was not so high. In the end, we got caught.
On whether Arsenal can compete with City…
It doesn’t look like, certainly for you, at the moment. You have always to put things into perspective when the confidence is not at its best. After what happened on Sunday, the players had to go through a lot of difficulties. At the moment we have to accept that City is above us, the difference is certainly not a coincidence. We have to work on closing that difference.
On the empty seats suggesting the club is at a low ebb…
Yes, of course. You cannot be euphoric after what happened on Sunday and tonight. There were special circumstances weather-wise, I think that explains it as well.
Sigh
Mhkitaryan is the same as Ozil and Ramsey. Same type of pass and move players.
We lack creative guile out wide and pace to threaten.
See Sane and Silva. Sane in particular. He can take out one or two or more defenders which tears the defensive shape apart.
We had that in Alexis.
We should have bought Draxler or Mahrez (or frankly both)
We should have bought a defender or two, there again he’d have only turned good defenders into shit defenders.
Zzzzzz
There were special zzzzzzzz circumstances weather-wise, zzzzzzzzI think that explains it as well. 40 winks, 40 winks!!
Weather wasn’t an issue for the Man City fans! The reason Arsenal fans didn’t turn up was because they didn’t want to see their team get beat beacause of a lucklustre sh!t performance. For those that did turn up (me included) that’s exactly what we got!
BS excuses…
Why should we have to accept City are above us?! Defeatist mentality. Seriously Arsenal are the only team in the “top 6” that would say this. Enough is enough. See you later Arsene…no wonder this team is so full of this meek mentality
Erm. Because unlimited funds, Pep Guardiola, and 30 points in the table?
But yeah, we, or rather the board, should be reflecting carefully about what we’ve done as a club to create a gap that is much bigger than our current resources and players should allow.
Stop pointing out the financial side, if it wasn’t for Cech the fucking potatoes would have scored a hatful of goals against us. We spent £53million on a striker at the beginning of the season and it is likely he doesn’t have a future at the club. How much on the likes of Xhaka and Mustafi the two new scapegoats week in week out. I’m tired of hearing about the money, we are not just behind City. We are well behind Man United, Liverpool, potatoes and Chelsea. I’m tired of these excuses. We were untouchable over a decade ago, everyone… Read more »
While I ahmgree about meek mentality, City is so obviously above us tgat any other suggestion would be pure ignorance
The George Graham way:
First thing you do when confidence drops due to a poor run of results is to shut up shop at the back and grind out a few dull draws to restore belief again.
Then rebuild from there…
But this is Wenger.
I don.t think he meant it is acceptable..more that it is the reality at this time
Oh for f**ks sake. We’ve been 2nd-4th best in the past decade Arsene. This is not news
Well, we’re now very clearly 6th best. At the moment, there’s a top 5, then there’s us. So it kind-of is news. We’ve gone significantly backwards over the last two years, at the same time that Liverpool, Spurs and even Man U have finally started to get things right.
and out of those 4th places, many have been a last ditch escape from 5th…
It’s obvious the players are Wenger out too. None of them are playing for him. He should leave end of the season… Henry in
Had me until Henry in
Hell no. Henry’s never even managed a match. Given his ‘punditry’ he’s low on the list for me until he’s got some experience to show.
Henry in 2000s actually was closest thing to a tactical assistant Wenger ever had at Arsenal. If you werent around at the time you can look up some interviews Wenger Pires Leahman Campbell or Bergkamp had about him and his monday analyzes for next weekends… Even ppl from Barcelona are singing the same song now https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/thierry-henry-backed-to-emulate-pep-guardiolas-barcelona-rise-with-arsenal-a3778291.html%3famp
To be honest his punditry where he says things that he thinks are really profound and insightful but are actually pretty basic or wide of the mark doesnt fill me with confidence. Id love him at the club in some role but not manager
Players who can’t be arsed because they’ve lost faith in the manager is a sure sign the player is a duck and shouldn’t be at the club. 10s of thousands and pounds a week (minimum) and they lack the self respect to turn up and put in a shift? Sell them to Chelsea or Utd then. Whatever Wenger’s faults, at least he gives a fuck, which seems to be more than any of the board can say.
Wenger gives a fuck so much that he just sits on his arse all game even when 0-3 down at home, while the opposition manager stands on the sidelines shouting instructions and continually fine tuning his strategies.
Enough is enough, we are now no where City, but also the five teams above us.
It is now becoming sad and embarrassing!
Love what Arsene has achieved, but every dog has its day !!!
No he wont go on his own hes been making easiest money in history of sports in a ridiculously safe position. Steward Robson just put it best: “Did you see his interview? ‘I’ve turned down the world to stay at Arsenal’ – he’s so arrogant, it’s untrue. “The reason he stays at Arsenal is he can do what he wants, he’s not under pressure and he gets paid nearly £10 million a year – that’s why he stays at Arsenal, not because he’s loyal to the club. “If he was loyal to Arsenal and loved Arsenal so much, he would… Read more »
Stewart Robson has never put anything best. The guy is only second to piers Morgan in terms of bell ends associated with the club.
As he is in a comfort zone, so are his players. Ozil had the temerity to release a press statement scolding our legends; Belerin had the nerve to question fans. Tell me what were Diego Costa and Yaya Toure’s sins? Truth be told, Wenger loves the Arsenal because the bar set for him is 4th place and a few bucks he makes as profit for the club. He can’t go to Madrid because the bar is high and not because he loves Arsenal so dearly. His players are also comfortable remaining in Arsenal even when they are on the bench;… Read more »
Is he still there?
Yes
I don’t know how to make gifs. Just imagine she’s saying Europa League instead of Obi Wan Kanobi.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5cc_h5Ghuj4
Numb to it all, thankyou (genually) but please go.
At least the financial results announced this week were positive.
But actually they weren’t in my opinion. Property income and player sales as one offs. Declining revenue and increased wages
Can we end our season now and settle for default 10th place? I would take that if there’s such option 🙁
Team isn’t playing for the manager. Some of the players are just going through the motions… bad time indeed
Mananger isn’t directing the team.
AND Steve Bould is useless. Clearly not Carlos Quieroz.
Arsenal over the past 4 years has a very high percentage of losses to teams above us. Wenger has made this team a very weak mid table team.
We have to accept under the current ownership NOTHING WILL CHANGE!
The weather was bad but all the city fans got down here. The weather wasnt bad in every europa home game even last week we saw the place half empty. Its sad seeing a clever man like wenger spout rubbish to make it seem better the whole club does it. 58 thousand in there tonight ? Cowards
“We have to accept this squirrel would make a better manager”
Well he did not bother second half to switch things around. Out of ideas.
The team is poorly composed for Wenger because we frankly need better players in areas neglected when instead we mucked around with another striker going similar way as Lacazette (even with service) and who is cup tied for europa.
I would have thought he lump in Iwobi at least for the lumbering Welbeck.
We are now going to rely on Welbeck for europa.
Great idea.
Relying on Welbeck.
How far we’ve fallen
Farce
Just go away.. Looser
We seemed to try harder than in the cup final but it made absolutely no difference at all. That’s hard to accept.
The gaffer went for a more attacking approach with just the 2 cbacks.
We were competitive in midfield and I thought Granit, Ramsey and Ozil were decent.
BUT we failed to make it count further forward.
…the half chances we did not finish…well City are so much more clinical.
That’s the real diff.
Lack of service?
Aubameyang can’t even finish from the spot.
World class you say?
Honestly, just start again. Keep Ozil, Jack, Auba, Kos & Hector and have a fire sale. Everyone is up for grabs if we get decent offers. Put a 3 or 4 year plan in place to completely rebuild the team. Winning Europa League is a pipe dream too as long as Atletico Madrid are in the competition. They are heating up and are good enough to win the Champs League so we have absolutely no shot of winning that trophy if they’re still in it.
Dire days indeed.
Not terribly realistic.
You want to keep Koscielny?
He was poor today and isn’t getting younger.
Honestly no. Just no.
If we don’t win it I think we better finish 7th instead of 6 th, just concentrate on getting to top 4
Waaay above us. They were sharper which was the difference and their movement better. But they also had a balanced team. I did not think Musrafi or Granit played particularly badly today (By contrast Koscielny was poor) BUT the difference is in the resources of our team thanks to January (unnecessary) dealings. We have a striker that will get the usual stats heads to wank over but who can’t put in a penalty now. You want service? How’s a penalty for service? Instead we have ceded pace and creativity in the wide areas in exchange for a replicant of Lacazette.… Read more »
Ah that wonderful word again: #perspective
See Wenger whisper into Pep’s ears before the match?
” Please just 3 goals that’s it. after that tell your chaps to just pass it around in second gear. No more humiliation please.”
Please, before we get tanked in the Europa, just leave now.
From le professor to captain hindsight and dr.spin. How the mighty have fallen. Its sad really.
I just watched his interview on video, watch closely he looked like he is trying hard not to start crying he looks like in any moment he will start crying, he is very hurt old man, and I am sad watching him like this but he is doing this to himself, i really dont know what is going on in this club and with the board anymore, I know that a new manager will make us better and will bring us back in CL place, but i also know that there are much bigger problems than only wenger in the… Read more »
Arsene coaches?
I don’t think you observed Wenger’s physiognomy very keenly. The man was no close to crying; he had the chance to do that after throwing away a 4-0 lead against Newcastle; allow Birmingham City to come from behind to steal the Carling cup. Is it the unforgivable and unforgettably 8-2 defeat from United or the 6-1 from Chelsea, the 10-0 from Bayern. The list goes on. The only thing going on in Wenger’s mind is how to perpetuate himself in office. Have never seen a white man behave like a black man, the sit tight syndrome. Wenger is the Mugabe… Read more »
Loser
Can’t see the gaffer staying after the summer. He looks like he knows he has run out of ideas. BUT we need to be very careful selecting the new manager. Whoever comes in has to take better control of Mslintat and company and have them work closer to his vision and not independently. The dissolution of that area of business has left the squad’s lack of balance further compounded after January. If we were already stuttering before end of window, we have got worse after. I can’t see what Mustafi did terribly wrong this game. He was caught wide for… Read more »
We can recognize that City are above. Ain’t no way in hell we should accept it. Maybe that’s the problem.
You have recognized it for donkey years now. Not improving means acceptance. Not accepting is not by mouth, its by doing.
Arsene your worth what 100mill after 20+ years of Arsenal, French Tv, Beinsport etc. Even when he’s not on Arsenal duty he’s picking up money from other sources. Fine, so you can buy a club in France & run it as your own Feifdom, stand there with your watch & whistle till you drop dead, just don’t take Arsenal any more downhill than it is now – a laughing stock PLEASE. Only 30 points behind City is acceptable!
…and the death bell keeps ringing. Genuinely just feel bad for him. He looks so lost, & is rightly or wrongly being left on his own… exposed. I believe (& have done for dome time) that it’s past his time to go. But he’s not the only one at fault in this fiasco: – The owner is a silent twat, that has no sporting ambition whatsoever outside of actually owning sporting teams…but we all get that. It’s a fact of life & is never going to change…ever. – But the board for me have played a huge HUGE roll, &… Read more »
The board is not to be blamed, it is Wenger. He is completely in tandem with the board, in fact he gives the board the impression that he can bring success with rookies like Niles and Nielson who are not even up to the level of Chelsea’s Musonda. If he is not with the board, let him resign and state the reasons. After all Conte seem to be leaving Chelsea this summer because he doesn’t agree with club policies on transfer. Do you think the Glazer family would hire Mou, if he didn’t promise them success? The same with Arsenal… Read more »
What Wenger has to accept that the current generation of managers at the other clubs are ABOVE HIM!! Its yime for you to go Wenger. Stop the rot. We need a man with fresh ideas.
What about Nottingham forest?
And you have to accept that ITS TIME TO GOOOOOOOO
Wenger will have to accept he will be somewhere else next season
No we don’t have to accept anything, it’s not a dictatorship thanks… though it seems like one. Liverpool have shown you can at least challenge them over a game & play a great style in the league. Spurs are showing that they can do it on a smaller budget like how we used to. As much as I dislike those teams they aren’t ‘accepting’ anything. Utd are a bit of a joke, but that just makes it worse, we are nearwhere near them. Chelsea too. All those teams are fallible & could be got at within a season. Blaming the… Read more »
The spuds would soon tear apart. You cannot do much on small budget in football these days. City has the right temperament.
Sadly it’s not just City…
The problem is that there are many teams above us, both in the table and in the way they perform. City is certainly one that we can “accept”, they are a well-oiled machine filled with extraordinary talent. But we cannot “accept” all of them. And the issue is that right now we needn’t worry about closing the gap with city, we must try to close it with much lesser teams. About the EL, Milan is very high on confidence right now and have turned their season around. I still think that we can beat them, but they fight for every… Read more »
I don’t know what you are talking about. Official attendance was 58000 plus. Those were Arsenal fans dressed as seats
Sounds to me like Arsene is finally accepting its over. No more protecting players. I am sure he wanted to say Arsenal are quite shite and his players have not performed how they should.
Game
Over
Man.
NO we don’t have to accept anything , we don’t have a weak mentality like you , just leave the club NOW.
i just wonder how far ManCity goes in CL this time ? they’re an ugly bunch of talented players who can play direct , automatic football and are apt at the art of fauling in a sublime way too … would be interesting to see them against Barca or Bayern …i feel they have a chance
As much as I have loved the beautiful football and flair. I miss players like Lauren, Parlour, Keown, Dixon, Adams, Gilberto, Vieira, Petit, Flamini… Even bloody Edu stuck his foot in. Eboue wasn’t brilliant but he gave you 100%. Ive probably missed out a few but why is it so beyond us and such a dirty thing to suggest buying players who can tackle? They don’t need to pass very far nor have blistering pace. Just sit, tackle, short pass. Defender or DM. Its that simple. If we are playing against superior teams, defend like the Arsenal teams of old… Read more »
We took a decade to get from Superb to Mediocre. I’d think we’d take longer to go from Mediocre to Superb. I don’t care what needs to be change but something needs to be change.
From most important to least:
Boards/Holders
Manager(s)
Players
Backroom staffs
COYG!