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.

Wenger Press Conference Pre Fulham

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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.

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