As Manchester United celebrated a 2-1 win at Arsenal on Sunday that kept their bid for a 20th English League title very much alive, their beaten opponents faced the growing prospect of finishing outside the Champions Ledague qualifying places for the first time since 1996.
Arsene Wenger's men crashed to their third successive league defeat and fell five points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Arsenal trail leaders Manchester City by a massive 18 points but the prospect of failing to qualify for Europe's elite competition next season, a scenario described by Wenger earlier this season as a "disaster", moved a step closer.
Arsenal could secure their place in next season's competition by lifting the European Cup in Munich in May, but that looks highly unlikely after failing to beat the likes of Swansea City and Fulham in the Premier League this month, let alone European giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Asked about his team's Champions League prospects, Wenger said: "It leaves us in a very difficult position, it was a match we could not afford to lose today."
Wenger was more angry after he was questioned for his late substitution of 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, arguably Arsenal's best player who was replaced by Andrei Arshavin, long out of form and favour with the Arsenal fans.
The decision was roundly booed by home supporters and even skipper Robin Van Persie was seen to mouth "no" and shake his head as Arshavin came on.
"I made the decision because he started to fatigue and because Arshavin is captain of the Russian national team and if I have to justify that he comes on a substitute for a guy of 18 years old playing his second or third game, let's be serious," Wenger told reporters.
"People pay for their tickets and are free to express their emotions and we have to live with that, but that doesn't mean they are right.
"I have to stand up for the substitutes I made. I have been 30 years in this job and made 50,000 substitutions and I don't think I have to justify to you every time I make a decision."
Arshavin, though, did turn his back on the advancing Antonio Valencia who provided the pass for Welbeck's winning goal.
"Don't expect me to blame any individual," Wenger said. "I will not do that. We win together and we lose together."
United manager Alex Ferguson was delighted with a win that kept his side within three points of City at the top of the table.
"They had three good chances to score at the start of the second half and missed them all," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "So we rode our luck there, but after that we dominated the game and had some great chances."
He added that it had been vital to match City's win over Tottenham Hotspur.
"That was the most important thing," said Ferguson.
"We played very positive football today, we were adventurous so I am very pleased with that. At this time of the season we have some tough games and now we have four massive away games after this. It was important to win today."
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having loathed the man for years and years, i think i like wenger for his grim tenacity in the face of a world that is spinning upwards and onwards into a hyperinflationary and unsustainable spiral of money and babble
the fans pay the bills, one way or another, all of them
everyone else wastes it, or takes a cut, or creams some off for himself - in a world recession! it cannot go on
wenger tries to run a club, in a european competition, in the premiership, and in london. and tries to do it through tried and tested football strategies. i like him.
i wish he'd come to leeds
my dear aserna is gone! Wenger, what a shame! shame on u indeed!
AW: ""I made the decision because he started to fatigue and because Arshavin is captain of the Russian national team......."
Basing the decision on him being captain of his national team makes no sense. Surely it would have been better to leave a young player (who was playing well and did not look at all fatigued) on the pitch instead of replacing him with a player who hasn't performed in so long. Give the chance to the younger player and let him get some experience. If your most promising player can't play for 90 minutes without getting fatigued Arsenal have big problems!!
Am really running out of patience and losing hope in the future of the club because the manager and board has run shot of ideas and decisions hence poor decision making. Wenger and the team is already psychologically defeated esp against man u such that even if the best scored is to play, they can loose.
Am beginning to hate the club esp manager + the board, Ramsey, Arshavin, Walcot etc. Any it was a nice play thou points are gone
AW: ""I made the decision because he started to fatigue and because Arshavin is captain of the Russian national team......."
Gazidis, have you read what your manager said about his cretinous substitution? Bring in the men with white coats........
"I have been 30 years in this job and made 50,000 substitutions....." Well actually you took this job in 1996 so, let me see now, 15-16 years. But I accept that as a gooner the last five years have felt like 20 years so I can sympathise. As to 50,000 substitutions.............Arsene, you can't count FIFA Football 12!!
Sack Wenger The Clown. Four years too late but the ONLY hope for the future.
we Arsenal fans have to get real. I am not so sure it is Wengers fault, are the board really offering him money for big transfers, I do not think so. I do not think he likes being a loser who has lost the plot, I think the board are mostly to blame. We are fighting for 5 or 6th position this year. RVP will go in the summer and Wilshire maybe the year after. Our only hope is that somweone else buys the club of these greedy shareholders who are ruining the Arsenal.
50,000 subs in 30 years...thats 32 a week!!!
we only have one person to blame for this and its not entirely the players fault the manager has to accept he has made mistakes and the sooner the better , he now HAS to accept this and try to rectify this he needs to get into the transfer market buy big buy class , we need hazerd we need him now we need 4 big names names that will give us the boost we need both on and of the pitch we do have a good YOUNG squad a squad that will benefit from the new players that come in yes i agree with what wenger said and understand re players wanting to move in january are not committed but if you go in and offer the right price then that player is not the same as a player who orhestrates a move he moves because WE need him and if you need to pay 4 5 or even 10 mill over the top then sorry we HAVE to do it and now , if we do we still have a chance we dont then we are in big dangerof kissing epl goodbye even if we do buy it is not a guarantee nothing is there are 4 good teams above us but we have to try , everyone says in wenger we trust well we need to now more than ever before i know he will never read any off this but if he was i would like to think he takes notice because in football the trust is not bottomles though he is the best and needs to prove to himself as well us
we are being pushed down the slippery slope by wenger lack of signings when will he learn if you pay peanuts you get monkeys
A fair result, but I feel a little sad to see how Arsenal have fallen further down the league. They have been a better side on the whole this season than Chelsea who seem jaded and still their record signing can not hit the back of the Net.He was not scoring i his last few months at Liverpool
Who will win the league?,who knows at this stage,but Tottenham should have had a least a point they played as potential title winners and Man C could have had a player sent of for stamping and would another player have scored that penalty. Lescott is playing to the limit on BLOCKING , one of his two blatant ones could have had him sent of with another more robust ref.
PS I enjoy watching Good footballing teams BUT I must admit I am a life time LUFC supporter.
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