“We had an unbelievable chance in the first half and the way we finished our chances is a problem”, Wenger told reporters after his side’s demoralising defeat.
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“Arsenal are not a small little club and you would expect them to be on the front foot and have a good go”.
“The first half they did very well, they are physically very strong”, he said.
“We started to find space and were able to open the scoring. But there is nothing decided yet, we will have to perform very well in the (second leg)”. “With our same effort and same spirit we have a good chance”.
The defeat to Barcelona came just days after a disappointing 0-0 FA Cup fifth-round draw at home to Hull which means Arsenal also face a tricky replay in the coming weeks. That match arguably showed Arsenal really could be contenders this year and they can bounce back with what would be a massive win, at 6/4.
“When the players put in the energy that they have put in on Tuesday, it’s very hard to take because you want the players to be rewarded”.
“It wasn’t deliberate”, Luis Enrique said.
But Wenger refused to read too much into the wins as the Frenchman explained that he never expected Manchester United to lose those two games against minnows. They were better than us.
The one unsavoury note of Barca’s performance was the suspicion that defender Gerard Pique, who was on a yellow card going into the match, earned himself a second and deliberate yellow card after 85 minutes.
The two teams will go head to head at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, with the Gunners ten points clear of United in the standings, as they look to boost their title chances with a victory. We played a great game, but we know the tie is not over yet. “It always hurts to miss a Champions League game”, the centre-back wrote.
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“I think the only thing we didn’t fulfil was that we didn’t score. He had to make the tackle”.
