Wenger refuses to criticise Arsenal flops
Arsene Wenger has refused to criticise his players after they crashed out of the Capital One Cup to League Two side, Bradford City.
The Arsenal boss fielded a near full-strength side against the Hornets but the Gunners succumbed to a loss on penalties, in arguably Wenger’s most humiliating defeat in his tenure at the club.
Defeat
After conceding an early goal, Arsenal eventually levelled the scores in the 88th minute with a Thomas Vermaelen header.
But Bradford managed to hang on for a further 30 minutes in extra time and went on to win the penalty shoot-out after Santi Cazorla, Marouane Chamakh and Vermaelen all failed from the spot.
Arsenal fans took to Twitter and radio talk shows to slam their manager and their club’s lacklustre performance, but Wenger refused to slate his side’s efforts.
Congratulations
“Congratulations to Bradford, they had a good start and after that they defended well. Overall we had many chances. The keeper had a great game and we couldn’t convert our chances,” Wenger told Sky Sports.
“When you go out it’s never good enough at Arsenal. I think we lost on penalties to a team who defended well. I cannot fault the effort we gave for 120 minutes. You have to give credit to Bradford on the night. That’s part of the game.
“It’s not a lack of quality. We couldn’t convert our chances for different reasons. Overall it was a real cup game. We will get over that. It’s part of our club, it’s what we do.”
Amongst all the criticism Wenger has received this season, an Arsenal legend in the form of Ian Wright has shown him some support on Twitter.
“How can Wenger resign! (sic) He surely can’t want to leave AFC in the state it’s in! Wish the 2 powerhouses with the money would start talking!”
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Kwapnoe Rangnaan
