Arsene Wenger has admitted his players let him down on Tuesday…
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has slated his players following their performance in Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund, as the Gunners slipped to defeat in their opening match of the Champions League group stage.
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Wenger, who was quoted in the Daily Mail, admitted that their German opponents were the better team, after goals from Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang either side of half-time ensured that Dortmund started their campaign with three points.
The North London side were worryingly poor in what should admittedly be their toughest match of the round. They will also be helped by the fact that Galatasaray snatched a late equaliser against Anderlecht in the other match in the group.
Nonetheless, Wenger was not impressed with his team’s performance: “It was a difficult night,” said the manager. “Dortmund were the better team. We had a disappointing performance. It is difficult to go into individual assessment of any player because as a team were not at the required level.
“Still the paradox of the night is that we had very good chances to score first. We were caught on two counter-attacks. For the first, we lost the ball 80 metres from our goal. There were enough people to stop the goal. We were still three-against-one at the back. It’s difficult to understand how we conceded the goal.”
To make matters worse, Wilshere twisted his right ankle near the end of the 2-0 defeat and Wenger admitted he was concerned because it is the same joint which ruled him out of action for 17 months.
“It’s difficult to say how bad it is,” said the Arsenal manager. “Normally it would not be too bad but I am a bit cautious because of his history.”