Monday 26 November 2012

Wenger: 'We lacked a bit of sharpness against Villa'




Dear Arsenal supporter,

We expected a difficult game at Aston Villa because it's always tough when you play away after a Champions League game.

Villa fought very hard and they had some chances as well, but I thought we controlled them quite well. I think we had room to win the game but we lacked a little bit of accuracy in our final ball.

I cannot fault my team for the spirit they showed for 90 minutes but it's true that we lacked a little bit of sharpness in the final third.

Wenger Post Aston Villa Press Conference

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Wenger's View: The best training for a game is to travel to Panama and back with your national team!


Wenger: 'We showed quality and movement'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I hope you enjoyed Saturday's win over Tottenham - it was another entertaining game and it will help our confidence.

We were a bit nervous at the start of the derby and a mistake at the back gave Tottenham the first goal and then they had another good chance. But the sending off changed the game.

Emmanuel Adebayor had made a flying start to the game - he tends to play well against his former clubs - but it was a red card offence on Santi Cazorla. Of course there was no guarantee that we would win when he went off.

Wednesday 14 November 2012

Wenger's View: 'Giroud has more self-belief now'




Wenger: 'Giroud has more self-belief now'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

It was frustrating on Saturday because we had the opportunities to win the game.

We were caught in a comfortable position because we did the most difficult thing - we scored the first two goals. But when it was 2-0 we lacked urgency defensively and we paid for that.

In the second half we gave everything and I have to give credit to the players for that. At 3-2 down we didn't give up, we continued to go forward and we had the chances to win the game.

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Schalke 2 -2 Arsenal | Happy With A Draw | How Sad



My first reaction on seeing the team list about an hour before the game was one of relief not to see Andre Santos. He was replaced at left-back by Vermaleen while Koscielny took his position at center-back alongside the increasingly reliable big German, Mertesacker. On paper it would seem like the perfect call to make under the circumstances especially since Vermaleen plays as a left-back for his country. But given his and Koscielny's bungling forms in recent times, I was wary of having both on the field at the same time.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Arsene Wenger Press Conference and Exclusive Interview Pre-Schalke 04


Wenger's Views On The United Game


WE HAVE TO RECOVER FROM THIS

Dear Arsenal supporter,

Manchester United deserved to beat us on Saturday.

That is very disappointing, because we had a lot of the ball but we were not very efficient at either end of the pitch. They created more chances, they defended well and they were sharper than us in the duels.

Of course, part of our problem was conceding such an early goal. In a game like that, it's a massive disadvantage.

It didn't bother me that Robin van Persie was the scorer. That doesn't matter because all you want is to win the game. What is most important is that you don't make a mistake at the back and you don't give chances away.

We were poor defensively and there's no obvious reason for that apart from the fact that we didn't start well and that Man United have quality up front. They score goals against everybody and were better than us. It's as simple as that.

Jack Wilshere was sent off and I thought that was harsh. To me his second booking for a foul on Patrice Evra looked like a regular challenge.

I thought about replacing Jack in the second half but we were in a position where we had to attack and I had no offensive central midfielders on the bench. I thought I would leave him on a bit longer and then he got the red card.

At Manchester City, we drew 1-1 and we could have won that game. We didn't suffer from the comparison. But on Saturday we were not firing on full cylinders and we looked much more vulnerable defensively than we did at the start of the season.

Now we must recover from this and find our form for the Champions League trip to Schalke on Tuesday.

Finally, I would like to thank our travelling fans for their support at Old Trafford. They were always behind the team.

Thanks for your support.


Arsène Wenger

Monday 5 November 2012

United 2 -1 Arsenal | Santos Didn't Do Anything Wrong| Wenger's Tactical Nous In Question


Saturday's visit to Old Trafford was an opportunity to bury the ghost of the hiding we took in the same fixture last season. But within three minutes of kick-off, no other than the Dutchman we've come to hate hit our net and there was that feeling that if weren't careful we could be on the end of another hiding. Truth be told, the final result was respectable and flatters our overall performance considering the penalty miss and the number of clear-cut chances that United missed on the day. We could so easily have been buried -again.

The greatest harm the club's self-financing policy and in effect that unsuccessful youth development  program the club embarked on after the move from Highbury to the Emirates is that it has denied the team of players who understand historical rivalries and what it means to wear the red and white colours of Arsenal FC. That is why Andre Santos would think nothing of exchanging jerseys with the most easily identifiable "enemy" mid-way into a "battle" -a battle we were losing.

Saturday 3 November 2012

United Away! A Chance To Bury A Few Ghosts | Yes, We Can!


Opta Stats
*ManUre have won seven and lost none of the last eight matches against Arsenal at Old Trashford in all competitions.
*Shrek scored his first Premier League goal, his first in the PL for ManUre and his 100th Premier League goal against Arsenal.
*The Gunners have scored just 10 goals in 20 Premier League visits to Old Trashford, with last season (8-2 defeat) being the only time they have netted two in one game.
Naija End Gooner