Arsenal 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Wenger: ‘We weren’t good enough to win the game’
on any regrets over team selection…
No. We had 11 international players on the pitch at the start of the game. When we made the changes we were at 0-0.
on the performance…
We had a lot of the ball and [Blackburn] defended well. I believe we had 70 per cent of the ball, we had 16 shots at goal, they only had one shot at goal. For us it’s a typical cup game where it’s important not to concede and keep a clean sheet and I think we made a massive mistake on the goal. In a game like that it was down [to us] to keep a clean sheet and score in the final 15 minutes.
on the mistake on the goal…
I do not want to go too much into detail but I believe we were really guilty on the goal.
on losing to Bradford and now Blackburn…
If you look at the Premier League teams who went out against lower-league sides you will see it happened to many of them. We were not good enough to win the game, it is as simple as that.
on whether that is acceptable…
Not one defeat is acceptable. You are in this job to win every single game.
on the reaction of the fans…
I can understand it. You do not want your fans to be happy when you lose at home to Blackburn when the team has one shot at goal.
on where this defeat ranks…
It is very painful and very disappointing to lose a game like that. What is important now is to focus on the next one.
on missing out on two trophies…
Of course it is disappointing. It is very difficult to accept but it happened and we had enough chances to win, but we didn’t. Offensively we lacked ruthlessness and calm in front of goal. We didn’t make enough of our corners, and we were vulnerable on one mistake.
It is important to focus on our next game and it is a good opportunity to show that we have character and are men who can fight for each other
on how difficult this season has been…
The season is not over. For you maybe, not for me.
on facing Bayern Munich yet…
I think it is important to focus on our next game and it is a good opportunity to show that we have character and are men who can fight for each other. That is all you can do. You take a distance in terms of what people say and show how strong and good you are in the next game.
on lifting the team…
It is not difficult at all. It is our job. If we feel sorry for ourselves we would be completely wrong. We have a massive game on Tuesday night and we have to show that we some response in the team.
on the reaction to the defeat…
I leave all the headlines and the definite thinking to you. Football is much more unpredictable than that and I believe that 16 years without losing against a lower-league team, no one has done it so that means now up until now the record has been quite good. It is very disappointing that the two [defeats] have happened in the same season but I prepared these two in the same way that did in the 16 years before. If you lose a game people will be very unhappy, I am as well don’t worry.
