But questions will be asked as to whether play should have been stopped by referee Robert Madley as Gunners’ skipper Laurent Koscielny lay prone in front of the Saints goal with a head injury at the time. “When you lose your first home game you can not afford to drop points in the second home game because it creates a little bit an anxiety level at home and that’s not what you really want”.
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The Gunners had to come from behind to win at the Emirates on Saturday after Dusan Tadic’s 18th-minute free-kick rebounded off goalkeeper Petr Cech and into his own net.
In stoppage time they won a penalty for a foul on Olivier Giroud from Jose Fonte, and Santi Cazorla duly converted the spot kick to win all three points for Wenger’s men.
“Honestly, everyone is telling me it was a penalty, but I’ve not yet seen it again”, Wenger told reporters.
“They were a bit surprised by the pace and commitment of the Premier League, but they will adapt to that”. He did look a bit better after the break but it was hardly a great debut and will not do his confidence much good. “It is a win after Watford and, if you can put a few wins together like we have, we will be more confident”.
Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, admits he was relieved after Santi Cazorla scored a 94th minute penalty to eventually defeat a stubborn Southampton side at the Emirates.
He said: “I am angry for my players”.
Faced with dropping points in its first home game since losing to Liverpool in the opening round, Arsenal benefited from a favorable refereeing decision 30 seconds after the clock hit 90 minutes.
“I want to stay with the positives of this game”.
After a slow start to the season it was important for the Gunners not to drop any more points and so even though we have a big European match on Tuesday it was expected that the boss would play as starong a side as possible.
With the game still in the balance, Long headed over a good chance from the middle of Cech’s goal before Nacho Monreal’s strike was deflected behind by Cedric.
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“It is a disappointment for my players to lose this game in this condition”.
