Arsene Wenger has admitted his relief at the late win over Southampton today, saying that Arsenal could not afford to drop more points at home after the opening day defeat to Liverpool.
The Gunners rode their luck a little, with Shane Long squandering some great second half chances to put the visitors in front, but in the end Santi Cazorla’s late penalty was enough to take three much needed points.
Speaking after the game, the Arsenal boss said, “It’s a relief. When you lose your first home game, you cannot afford to drop points in the second home game because it creates a little bit of anxiety at home and that’s not what we really want.
“In the second half I felt we dominated well again and created many dangerous situations but couldn’t score,” he continued.
“Because we threw everything forward we were always a little bit under threat on the counter-attack of Southampton and in the end we got the penalty.”
The performance wasn’t the most convincing, but in mitigation it’s just after the Interlull, with two debutants, and the manager does quite seem to know his best side yet. The Frenchman is hoping a couple more wins will help improve performances.
“It is a win after Watford, that is two wins together,” he said. “If we can put a few wins together, of course that will help us to be more confident and to get to a very fluent level like we want to play.”
And his reaction to the late penalty was pretty enjoyable:
Wenger told the penalty "looked harsh". AW: "Oh yeah?" *shrug*. #gangsta
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) September 10, 2016
Now, to PSG on Tuesday.
3points that’s all that matters right now . Fluidity with the new signings will come.
Loving this Wenger that dgaf’s in the pressers
Looked harsh that the referee didn’t bodyslam Fonte when he exploded in his face.
makes sense why Jomo wants Fonte. that entire squad will be filled with twats.
not sure that’s fair to Fonte, he’s a pretty decent and likeable player. He doesn’t deserve Mourinho 🙂
I don’t think the body slam would have done much. Fonte looks like a pretty strong lad. Perhaps a well placed kick in the ‘nads?
I did he took a bit of a risk, having already been booked for the foul. Perhaps he wanted to go out in style.
Keep grinding out those wins you Gunners!!
Maybe only a few like this after 10 cruising wins please.. Pity my crumbling heart please ._.
This the the first season in a long time in which I truly feel that ambition and motivation keeps us going until that last whistle. We have a great mentality in the squad at the moment. We played average today and yet still got the result. It was the kind of performance that would have seen Southampton leaving smug in previous years. Let’s keep this up and get hopefully the players will find that perfect rhythm soon. COYG!
That is a good win with regards to our title challenge. But we can improve our game. We have better players than Man City IMO. Especially defensively and in the middle of the park. I just want us to be more dangerous and effective with chance creation. Man City just seem to have a superior attitude and a serious work ethic – collective responsibility. We have to improve big time. But there’s no reason as to why we cant make it. Seriously.
Don’t push it…city have a better coach and squad. Nothing wrong with being positive, but come now.
Honestly point to me one position where Man City is clearly better than Arsenal other than striker because Aguero is an obvious exception? The Boss and Mustafi are better than any of their center back pairings since Otamendi is shaky and Kompany is always injured. I would say Gabriel is comparable to Otamendi although he is also comparably shaky and Holding really isn’t that far behind Stones. Right back Bellerin is having a slow start to the season but he is still better than Zabaleta and Sagna at the moment imo and left back Nacho is more consistent than Kolorov… Read more »
Otamendi is definitely a better defender than gabriel and per.
Silva is better than santi, fernandinho is better than Coq and probably Xhaka. Gundogan is world class. Ozil is better than all their attacking mids. So no, they aren’t only superior upfront. Haven’t even mentioned young talents like sane and Gabriel jesus.
We are in close proximity to fourth place. And that – again – is where it’s at. City, Utd and I suspect Chelsea, will all finish clear of us.
It’s us and the Spuds and possibly Liverpool for 4th.
Hey Trez, am not pushing it. The additions that Pep made were mainly on the offensive and that has made their attacking threat even more potent. But seriously, everyone noticed gaps in their defensive game. They are fluid in attack and that makes them seem dangerous. They have mastered their transitions and wing play – a Pep stronghold at Barca and Bayern. But they are vulnerable. At one time, I honestly thought Man U would get back into the game… It’s not that they have a weak defensive unit (City). I just feel we are better on that front. It’s… Read more »
Get real everyone.
Wenger still has faith in waĺly.? ((
Champions ??**
Against better opposition we would have lost.
On another day Long would have scored 2 and this place would be in full melt down. Nail biting performance, don’t really understand Wengers team selection, a new guy flanked by the Ox and Walcott?
I think thats bullocks. Wenger is a better coach than Pep. You lot do not appreciate what you have.
Please stop. Pep is by far the better coach. Surely the biggest wenger supporter knows this.
I respectfully disagree. Yes, he is certainly more hyped because we like new things in our culture. IMO, Alex Ferguson is the only coach better than Arsene in the past 20 years.
How can he be more hyped when he’s revolutionized the game?? Tactically, pep has no equal. Wenger has done great things in the past, but he’s not in Pep class. Not even Ferguson is better.
If you say wenger is a better man manager, maybe I’ll agree. Pep is going to dominate this league. No questions about it.
Pep always inheritated great winning teams. Before him barca were top team at la leaga and was winning European trophies. When he took over, they were top Spanish team and winning European trophies. After him, they are top Spanish team winning European trophies. Before him, bayern were top German team winning their league constantly and thrashing every team till the final of champions league where they get beaten by a Spanish team. With Pep they were top German team winning domestic trophies and thrashed every team in champions league till the semi final where they got beaten by a Spanish… Read more »
Why is pep better? Cus he’s won more titles? Didn’t he inherit Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Puyol, Henry, Eto’o + many other world class talents? Didn’t he inherit a treble winning Bayern Munich team? Did he have the resources to buy almost any player he wanted the past decade whilst Wenger’s hands were tied? Pep is a fantastic manager, but circumstances mean you can’t compare the two. If Pep had to build a team from scratch with a decent sized budget, no one knows how well he would do. Wenger will forever be one of the greatest managers of all time.… Read more »
No he came to a barca team that was in shambles and remodeled it by selling Ronaldinho, deco,etc. Brought busquets through, made iniesta and xavi the staple of the greatest club side in more than a decade and most importantly, made messi the player he is today.
Say what you want, but Pep is tactically on a whole different plane to wenger. Anyone who says otherwise is letting club loyalties blind their thinking.
Trez you need to slow down with the Guardiola propaganda. One of the dullest aspects of the modern game is listening to a fan who’s taken it upon themselves to convince everyone that XYZ is the best manager. Especially when their coaching career has coincided with some all-time great players. Understand the influence of Messi and Iniesta on Guardiola, not the other way round. Wenger, like Fergie rebuilt and dragged their clubs into the modern era over decades. This type of greatness won’t be seen in the modern game again. Pep Guardiola is unquestionably a great manager. But speak to… Read more »
Trez, Pep didn’t invent tica-taka. But he’s one of the few that’s imprinted it so deeply on his squad. He learnt it at Barca as a player.
He didn’t revolutionise the game but he’s certainly developed that aspect notably.
Are you on crack? I bet 3 weeks ago you was on these boards under a different name screaming for him to be sacked. For fuck sake guy. I’m all for being loyal to your team but don’t make yourself sound so ridiculous.
People keep saying Lucas had a bad game but I saw a lot of hustle from him. I think he is going to have a big impact once he settles and is just the type of direct and scrappy player we need.
I agree. It just wasn’t the type of game for his style. But he had his moments and with more fitness and experience he could be a really great alternative to Giroud
I think when we see Xhaka in the middle we will really start to see lucas at his best. Coq is ok, but I think we’re starting to see he is quite limited in attack. Xhaka is so creative from deep and changes the whole pace of the attack, which will benefit Perez
In the first half most teams would have had real problems with the Sotton lining up 11 behind the ball. Certainly not a great game for Lucas style of game as a CF, but a baptism of fire to some degree. He showed well and he’ll get better.
I’m smiling big time thinking about the amount of boiled Manc piss doing the rounds after today’s football…
Santi was my MOTM. Even if he hadn’t had the penalty. Bossed the midfield and picked up Ozil’s slack.
I agree. But next penalty better not be in the middle.
He looks at the keeper on his penalties. Where he places it doesn’t matter as long as the goalie has gone the other way. In fact, I think just a bit to the side and the middle is safest if you use the “look at the keeper” technique used by Mendieta Zidane and Hazard.
Coquelin was my MOTM but followed closely by Santi.
Ox had a better game.
Ozil was lacking.
Coquelin played well alongside Santi.
I just love Kozzer. What a beast.
Mustafi looks good. Lucas creates pressure through his unbelievable work rate.
Ox was awful
Ox’s final touch and ball was lacking, but he is the most direct player we have. He certainly adds a different dynamic to the team as he likes to run at players more than any other. I think he might come around, but he will be a good squad player no matter what and can be very useful in the right situation
Özil: 2/2 tackles, one block, 4 created chances, 86% accurate passes, 75% accurate crosses. I wish he could lack more often.
Gooners, don’t underestimate Ozil’s contribution. Even against Soton he made four chances, and Alexis’ shot, had it gone in, or Bellerin’s, we would be singing his praises, again. He makes chances that no one else can make. It was Cazorla’s night, of course, but Ozil, sure he didn’t convert his two half-chances, but he just adds a threat that makes Fonte so nervous, he kicks Koz and pulls down and kicks OG12.
The commentary i was listening to just ripped him all game (TSN4 in Canada). made me want to pull my hair out. He did some amazing things today, but whenever he did there was no comment. When he made a little mistake: “oh Mesut Ozil is just so inconsistent. How can a player this good be so hot and cold…” I hate listening to stupid people
To be fair, the commentary on TSN4 was the same as on the English channels. Or were you talking about the clowns that do the half time show? Those jackasses should all be shot.
I was talking about the second commentator…the one that was appalling bias against Arsenal. Every comment was ripping us and esp. Ozil. Commenting on the ref ripping Southampton…blah blah blah. Yes I’m sure it was the English commentators, but can only speak from experience as I don’t know what it was in England 😉
Lucas had some bright moments. Would like to see how he combines with Alexis.
Still don’t think we’re good enough to win the title. Nothing I’ve seen so far suggests otherwise. We should be worried about liverpool and spuds. Say what you want, those guys will challenge for the ucl spot. We have a better squad than chelsea, but don’t see wenger outwitting conte.
Can’t wait for Tuesday.
Today we showed a good ability to win ugly, but more importantly, I think we showed a really good ability to win without our best performers. I believe that key to any success this season will be the link between Kostafi, Xhaka, and Ozil, and we saw this play out in the Watford game, as Xhaka freed up ozil to take a more advanced position, and it really helped the harmony of our team. Today that didn’t work, because Ozil was poor and Xhaka didn’t play, but we were still able to win without those connections, which is a good… Read more »
agree with everything except that Ozil was poor. Not his best game, but he was still very good. Go back and watch his involvement. There are some absolutely sublime moments from Mesut that almost no other player can see or do. He is the best player we have (and that is saying something because I absolutely love Alexis) and top 2-3 players in the league. Ozil is football in its finest artform
Really need to pick it up. We were lucky that was given. I really would like a fresh approach to our style Even if it takes changes in management. The stadium was flat as always.
Woulda said to start Giroud in the UCL but that’s away against a team that will play actual football and attack so I won’t bother. We have to use the Giroud’s physicality at home especially against teams that defend with 10 men. There’s no chance they’ll let a Striker run through them.
Mustafi is going to be our stabiliser, this guy looks solid.
On a side note, if ever there was a ballon d’or for celebrations, Francis Coquelin would win every time.
Lol,u damn right
Margins this season will be tight and already we are seeing the table shape up barely 4 games in.
Absolutely right that every point now is precious.
We have Chelsea, and the Manchester teams just ahead, Spurs (although we all know about St Totteringhams)…still you never know. I expect Liverpool may also be somewhere in the mix just below us or so.
Great game all together.yes we played poor,put this is the kinda match we would ve lost a couple of seasons ago.its always difficult for us each time we had a break.and this time we had two new players who re more or less getting used to the team.i hate when pple say we can’t compete city,United or Chelsea,they re no way better than us.city looked weak at the back today,only survived cux mou decided to play a counter attarcking football with the wrong players(.lingard,Ibra,and d present Rooney)leaving fast players like Mata,martial,and rash on the bench.united were too rigid,and lacked creativity… Read more »
It’s good that we got the 3 points but the performance was worrying. It probably had something to do with playing 2 new boys (Mustafi and Perez), resting Xhaka, and playing both Walcott and Chamberlain because Sanchez and Iwobi weren’t 100% fit.
I can’t confess to being the most informed when it comes to tactics, but in a game at home when we were always gonna have more possession, doesn’t it make more sense to start with Giroud up front? And then against PSG, thats when you have the three speedsters up front?
The Boss is yet to figure it out.