Wenger blames nerves, but says team will improve

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
26 Dec	5:15 PM	P	Aston Villa (A)	2	2	Draw

Manager Arsène Wenger is claiming that his team were nervous in getting over the finishing line in the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

The Gunners were leading 2-0 in the first half but were pegged back in the dying seconds of the game.

It's uncharacteristic of Arsenal to let slip a two-goal lead, but it's become almost an eventuality with Arsène Wenger's team.

The Frenchman said: "It is disappointing being so close to a win and then they equalise, especially when I think Villa hadn't created a lot in the second half, after their chances in the first.

"I believe the turning point was the penalty because afterwards we lost some composure and became nervous in getting over the line; in the end that cost us.

"We are disappointed tonight, but there are positives. If you listen to 59 specialists, 58 of them said we would lose today, so we should be happy.

"You could see a few times that we had chances in the first half but there was a danger from set-pieces. You know Villa will lift the ball behind the defence and aim for set-pieces or crosses, and they are dangerous at that.

"At home when they don't have space in behind, and are without John Carew, they are not the same threat.

"I think we have to keep the belief we have in the squad, because we have played Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool and lost just once.

"We have improved in the last two months tremendously, and we look more solid. We are young and I think the same team today with one year more, would not let Villa come back."

User Comments

Clsmooth391

Posted on 28 Dec, 2008 at 02:05 AM - Reply

Can't beleive fans boo Eboue and Wenger gets nothing for treating fans like mugs. How many more excuses/years? The board are just as much to blame and will only wake up when we miss the champion league spot. Wish we were still at Highbury.

Olofin

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 09:10 PM - Reply

Don't totally agree abt Toure, before Gallas came, he was the best and perhaps he wasn't 100% fit for the game which was obvious in his performance, Wenger isn't going to buy because the board is stingy 'cos they keep sayin money is available and a coach who doesn't deliver(with all the cash available is going to be axed) and retains his job is impossible. Remember Sir Alex who won treble with Man utd was told to win a trophy after abt 2 yrs of nothing or get fired. The question is what happened to david dein & co.? Things aren't right again at arsenal.....

Remy

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 09:06 PM - Reply

Where has our gunner spirit gone??!Wenger is happy to get a point from villa!!We are the mighty gunners, the once invincibles. These days teams look at us as an opportunity to gain points. This has GOT to change or we'll have as many players as we have fans!

GunnerSg

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 04:20 PM - Reply

That game would have been the biggest smash and grab probably in Arsenal's season, and yet we ended up drawing the game. If this does not signal the need for signings, I don't know what else will convince Mr Wenger to do so. As ever Arsenal thanks for the edge of the seat entertainment ;)

Tony

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 01:24 PM - Reply

So he wants one more year? I like you Wenger, but you've had ample time to tinker with this experiment and it aint working. Address the salary issue and players might stay

abdo

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 01:14 PM - Reply

manager is way too optimistic if you ask me , liverpool are now 10 points ahead and the man thinks arsenal have improved over the last two months !!
i was about to have a heart attack when knight equalised , seriously... arsene should pay more attention to what arsenal fans expect from him... those uncharacteristic inconsistent displays should come to an end soon if we are to play in the champions league next season...

Bonnie -kenya

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 12:51 PM - Reply

That is not the arsenal i know! They have excuse for every game. Wat a shame! Wenger u r much of a reporter that a coach. Stop telling us the problem fix it.

Disillusioned Gooner

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 12:10 PM - Reply

We couldn't even control a smash & grab, that pretty much sums up AFC at the moment. Most of the players in the team have been at the club for at least 3-4 seasons now & we are talking of one more year. Based on our perfomance last season we should be top of the table this time around as we should have learnt from last seasons mistakes & built our weaknesses into strength's instead we are no where near our form of last season... one year more indeed!! We as fans are getting tired of AW's repetitive spin, our problems are very glaring for all to see yet none of them have been resolved. Get some top players in & watch these boys step their game up as it becomes more competitive within the team + they could learn a thing or two from world class players. David Villa as well as a midfield replacement for Fab should be bought in January. Bitter truth is that this team will not win any silverware in the near future & as seasons go by players come & go so the present team now will not be the same in about 2 seasons, remember we are a selling club. Thanks Arsene.

David

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 09:46 AM - Reply

Villa was unlucky last night not to have put the game beyond reach in the first half. Sometimes it seemed we would have come away with a win early in the second, when RVP could have put us up 3:0. The Arsenal defence looked fragile all the time, as I said Toure is never an Arsenal player since the first day, and Ramsey and Denilson were both not DM so that the equalizer said it all---there was huge gap in front of the back four. Arsene will find it hard to stay in top 6 if he failed to add quality CB, DM, and attacking midfielder or second striker to the squad in January. We will struggle to finish 5th if the stingy Frenchman leaves it as it is.

zabulon

Posted on 27 Dec, 2008 at 09:16 AM - Reply

I hope that things would change very soon we will be somewhere, Because the competition is very difficult for every team this year either Liverpool or Chelsea, our problem was the players we missed, such as:Flamini, Henry, Hleb, Gilberto, Edouardo,Van.... that is the problem if we will have a good time whereby all the players are there for a moment which is a bit longer things will change.

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