Arsene Wenger: Loss to Manchester City was ‘Unfair’

Arsene Wenger told reporters that the Gunners were ‘unlucky’ to be knocked out of the Carling Cup following their 1-0 loss to Manchester City on Tuesday.

To be fair, the team that Wenger sent out had no business competing with a City XI that was far more experienced and talented.

“It was an unfair result but I felt that we were a bit naive because it was a corner for us and a goal for them,” Wenger told reporters.

“I knew we were in trouble because we didn’t take enough time for the corner.

“[Johan] Djourou was just going up for the corner and he had to stay at the back. We didn’t leave him enough time to come back and that’s where we were caught. But I felt as well that we didn’t take the corners very well.

“What is very frustrating is that we lost the goal at the moment that we looked the winners of the game. Overall it is frustrating as well because we put a lot of effort in and we were not rewarded.

“On the other hand, I feel that considering the youth of our midfield we have battled very well and shown some fantastic quality.”

Arsenal’s top performer on Tuesday was undoubtedly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The former Southampton winger has impressed many, including Arsene Wenger and myself, in his first season with the Gunners.

“We lacked a little bit of experience to be more decisive in the final third but Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked like he could deliver something special the whole night and he has shown already that he has moved forward, and considering where he was the last two months, he has improved a lot.

“The experience shows tonight that it’s good sometimes to be positive as well as patient because I was very patient with him until now. It is important sometimes to hold them back a little bit and keep them on the training ground but he has improved a lot.

“[He has surprised me] with the consistency of his game. He was easy to push off the ball two months ago but tonight you could see that his resistance in the challenges, his strength in the duels is there, and that is of course very important for a top player.

“I feel in midfield [Emmanuel] Frimpong did well, [Francis] Coquelin did well. We battled very hard in there. They are mobile, strong in the fight. We did very well, I must say.

“Sometimes you could feel in the final third we lacked a bit of creativity. Especially in the last 20 minutes, I felt there was plenty of room to give them big problems and we sometimes missed a bit of experience with the final ball but overall we did very well.

“I cannot fault the team. They have shown heart, quality, desire and at the end of the day it’s frustrating, and frustrating for the players that they are not rewarded.

“Overall I felt we were a bit naive. You can call that bad luck, but I don’t believe in luck. We had to stop this counter attack, and that’s the job when you defend from your corner to stop that.”

Despite his frustration with the loss, Wenger managed to find a few positives from the game.

After all, it was just the Carling Cup.

“I look at the defeat badly, but on the other hand I want to take the positives out of this game. We have a fantastic attitude and spirit. We have quality. How far can we go this season? If we keep this attitude we can have hope. You can argue that we lost the easiest trophy to win, but if you look at the teams still in it, it doesn’t look as easy to win as usual.

“I consider the championship the most important. More than anything else it is important to finish in the top four.”