Arsene Wenger has accused his Arsenal stars of complacency after a 1-1 draw with struggling Birmingham allowed Manchester United to knock them off the top of the Premier League table.
The north Londoners had looked certain to keep their noses in front of their rivals when Emmanuel Adebayor's first-half penalty put them ahead at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
But they were stunned by Garry O'Connor's headed equaliser early in the second half. It was just the second time this season Arsenal had dropped points on home soil and Wenger cut a suitably dejected figure as he analysed one of his team's worst displays of an otherwise impressive campaign.
"It was very frustrating," he said. "The crowd pushed us on but we were punished for losing concentration on the set-piece. When we went ahead we thought it was going to be too easy and we didn't create enough overall. We were not sharp enough and they defended well. It's as simple as that.
"Every game is important so it's hard to say which is the most crucial period of the season but we have lost two points we shouldn't have lost. I'm confident the team will re-focus because they are very disappointed. Certainly, in this game the focus wasn't good enough."
Wenger's dismay was understandable. Birmingham, casting anxious glances at the relegation zone, had travelled south more in hope than expectation and with United not in action until later on Saturday evening, this was an inviting opportunity for Arsenal to tighten their grip on the title race.
Instead, they found themselves knocked off the summit, with serious doubts being cast on their championship credentials for perhaps the first time this season. Suddenly a run of league fixtures which looked certain to yield maximum points - Arsenal do not meet another top-half side until February - has an ominous look. Wenger's team did not deserve to win.
They may have dominated possession but their first-half performance was too elaborate and their second too frantic. After Birmingham equalised, O'Connor heading in Sebastian Larsson's corner in the 48th minute, their goalkeeper Maik Taylor remained surprisingly unflustered.
His players may have been too quick to panic, but Wenger has no intention of losing his cool. The Frenchman has lost three players - including his centre-half Kolo Toure - to the African Cup of Nations and remains bedevilled by injuries but he insisted he has no plans to enter the transfer market. "I don't look for anybody," he added.
"The last excuse you should look for when a team that has won many games this season doesn't win is to say you should buy players. I don't think we missed Kolo either: we didn't defend well on the set-piece and that's how we were punished." For Birmingham manager Alex McLeish, the point provided a timely lift. His team had been embarrassed in the FA Cup by League One Huddersfield seven days previously but his team's indomitable spirit - epitomised by Damien Johnson, playing with a protective face mask as he recovers from a fractured skull - was well worth a point.
"We were playing against a special team and the determination of the players got us through," the former Scotland manager said. "Getting something here doesn't baffle me - I've been involved in football for too long. "The one thing we have to improve on is getting points in the games which we have a better chance of winning. That's why we need to bring in some more creative quality this month.
That will help us open up teams in games where we're expected to pick up points."
by www.wldcup.com
The north Londoners had looked certain to keep their noses in front of their rivals when Emmanuel Adebayor's first-half penalty put them ahead at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
But they were stunned by Garry O'Connor's headed equaliser early in the second half. It was just the second time this season Arsenal had dropped points on home soil and Wenger cut a suitably dejected figure as he analysed one of his team's worst displays of an otherwise impressive campaign.
"It was very frustrating," he said. "The crowd pushed us on but we were punished for losing concentration on the set-piece. When we went ahead we thought it was going to be too easy and we didn't create enough overall. We were not sharp enough and they defended well. It's as simple as that.
"Every game is important so it's hard to say which is the most crucial period of the season but we have lost two points we shouldn't have lost. I'm confident the team will re-focus because they are very disappointed. Certainly, in this game the focus wasn't good enough."
Wenger's dismay was understandable. Birmingham, casting anxious glances at the relegation zone, had travelled south more in hope than expectation and with United not in action until later on Saturday evening, this was an inviting opportunity for Arsenal to tighten their grip on the title race.
Instead, they found themselves knocked off the summit, with serious doubts being cast on their championship credentials for perhaps the first time this season. Suddenly a run of league fixtures which looked certain to yield maximum points - Arsenal do not meet another top-half side until February - has an ominous look. Wenger's team did not deserve to win.
They may have dominated possession but their first-half performance was too elaborate and their second too frantic. After Birmingham equalised, O'Connor heading in Sebastian Larsson's corner in the 48th minute, their goalkeeper Maik Taylor remained surprisingly unflustered.
His players may have been too quick to panic, but Wenger has no intention of losing his cool. The Frenchman has lost three players - including his centre-half Kolo Toure - to the African Cup of Nations and remains bedevilled by injuries but he insisted he has no plans to enter the transfer market. "I don't look for anybody," he added.
"The last excuse you should look for when a team that has won many games this season doesn't win is to say you should buy players. I don't think we missed Kolo either: we didn't defend well on the set-piece and that's how we were punished." For Birmingham manager Alex McLeish, the point provided a timely lift. His team had been embarrassed in the FA Cup by League One Huddersfield seven days previously but his team's indomitable spirit - epitomised by Damien Johnson, playing with a protective face mask as he recovers from a fractured skull - was well worth a point.
"We were playing against a special team and the determination of the players got us through," the former Scotland manager said. "Getting something here doesn't baffle me - I've been involved in football for too long. "The one thing we have to improve on is getting points in the games which we have a better chance of winning. That's why we need to bring in some more creative quality this month.
That will help us open up teams in games where we're expected to pick up points."
by www.wldcup.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment