Premier League - Managers: Arsenal 'wanted it' too much
Managerial reaction from Tuesday's Premier League matches, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger left ruing his side's lack of composure in the 1-1 draw with Wolves.
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves
Arsene Wenger: "It was the kind of day where maybe we were not relaxed enough, maybe we wanted it so much, that we were a bit too in the 'wanting zone' and not enough in just the 'technical zone'. There are going to be a lot of twists and turns. When you have the luck of the results and you play, you can take advantage of it, that is where the worrying thing is because in the season you have to take your opportunities. We just have to keep going and take the positives out of the game. It is frustrating, but I am more frustrated by the result than the performance and the spirit. You cannot fault the attitude or the commitment or the desire to win the game."
Mick McCarthy: "I am delighted and proud. It was a difficult place to come and play. Wayne (Hennessey) is a good goalkeeper, one of the best in the league, and he gets a bit to do playing behind us. We know we can rely on him and trust him. It is fantastic - and it was a great performance."
Swansea 1-1 Queen's Park Rangers
Brendan Rodgers: "It was a clear penalty, I have had the chance to see it from a few angles and it was a definite penalty. We worked the space really well, Luke Moore got into a wonderful position, Nathan Dyer has done well, Danny (Graham) has bent his run superbly, got a touch and (Armand) Traore has made a foul. Normally with the referee so close that's a penalty. I thought it summed up Lee's performance which was interesting to say the least. He is a good lad on the circuit, trying to get experience, but he was very inconsistent right the way through, which did not help us."
Neil Warnock: "I am absolutely pleased with how we reacted with going a goal down but I am disappointed not to get the three points. We are very disappointed at their goal, as you would be. It's a deliberate handball, (Graham) gains an advantage and he wouldn't have scored otherwise. It was a certain handball, the referee said he saw the handball but that it was not deliberate, which disappoints me even more. It's the big decisions that you want referees to get right. I thought there were a number of mistakes tonight but it's the match-winning ones you want them to get right. It was a kick in the teeth, it felt such an injustice at half-time but it spurred us on. I think that was the most stonewall penalty (for Swansea) you will see in the latter stages, the most certain penalty ever. It definitely looked a penalty from where we were."
Norwich 0-2 Tottenham
Paul Lambert: "The bigger teams can really hurt you and Spurs are definitely up there vying for the championship. It's disappointing (to lose) but we gave it everything we had. They've got quality all over the pitch. I've got to have a realism factor, where we came from and the team we are up against."
Harry Redknapp: "It was a good result. When you are up there you cannot afford not to. You've got to keep picking up results. If there's one game to go and we're sitting with a chance to win the league (Spurs could be called contenders). Man United and Man City look so strong, I wouldn't like to pick up a winner out of those two. We'd like to get back in the Champions League and that won't be easy."
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Hail the Proff!
Loose: yup fair point, we do struggle around this time of year, but this time around we are only loosing Gerv to the ACN (chamak doesnt count) :) yet i think Chelsea will continue to struggle too, as will Pool. We have not had strength in depth for years now, yet we have always managed the CL spot. I wont say its a guarantee, but i still think its easily up for grabs. Our team was never really good enough for the League title but i still think we have a very good opportunity to get that 4th spot. This was 3 points we really needed, but i dont think its gonna be the last chance we get. Im just trying to stay positive. The fact that we do not NEED CL qualification is actually a bonus at this point. I want it but its not essential. Your worries about VP are sound, but i have the more pragmatic view that unless we break our wage structure then we will loose him anyway. I doubt that structure will be broken for him, so best to sell him come the summer. I hope that when our stadium debt is sorted that we will see new investment in the team. And if it isnt Wenger that invests, it will be our next manager who will be in a very healthy position and will hopefully push the boat out twice a year for a proven player to help build us up again. Im in no rush to win silverwear, i just think that we will be in a very good position in a year or two to begin challenging again.
Yeah, but Radge, we're NOT in the top four and the first ten weeks of the New Year is historically when we blow up. We do not have the individual strength or the strength in depth of the squad to compete with Chelsea through the mud. So we have to wait til the summer for Kroenkenstein to wake up and realise that investment in the squad pays CL dividends. But by then RVP will have had a stomach-load of AW's excuses and will have left too.
Too many of you trying to pick holes in Arsenal when it was clear to me Hennessy had a blinder! Keep picking holes but you see it a few times every season that a better gets held because of a keeper playing to his top form. Cest la vie. The 3 points i thought were seriously important for us, but then again with Chelsea and Pool also struggling for consistency the CL spot is still definitely on the table.
Wenger is an only manager who could perform his team without 20-30 million players, end of the season they will be in top four, no doubt that
Lee Probert?! Seriously.. this guy is a top referee? He ruined the whole game, I still can't believe what a bad match he had yesterday. Disgusted from him
Wenger is always full of excuses...last 6years excuses next for years will also be be excuses, New ara pls
f uck off yahoo with your g@y embedded videos which play automatically!
f uck of yahoo with your g@y embedded videos which play automatically!
i was just looking on here for a read and all i see is spurs this spurs that dont you think your being just like your manager too worried about every one else when arsenal need your support yes its true spurs are having a good run they are working for it
it is a pity and even painful. how can an ambitious team played and lost such an important opportunity to move closer to the leaders? all hope is gone and i don`t think arsenal can be among the first 5 teams on top this season! quite unfortunate!!!!
Arsene Wenger is busy writing his blog for Yahoo sport, he forget how to be an attacking team, ManCity and ManU are group 1, followed Chelsea and sadly Spurs, the third tiers are Liverpool and fortunately Arsenal. Only God knows how much they paying him hope its not 34K per nonsense like those dude on match of the day.
Once Spurs scored once they went looking for another, they didn't sit back and think the game was done.
Correction, AW!
It's true that Arsenal wanted to win too much but that "too much" must have meant "a win will do", isn't it? After that 1st goal which came after only 8 mins, what's happened to Arsenal? The players became contented and thought that 3pts was already in the bag. Instead of taking the opportunity to attack Wolves' shaken defence, they simply stroked the ball around with little desire to score more goals. Thoughts of "play safe, a win will do" must be on the players' mind!
After Wolves equalized, Arsenal somewhat got stunned and no one seemed to be able to breakdown Wolves' defence. Arsenal's attack, as often, lacked creativity and are so predictably that their opponents are able to restrict their scoring opportunities. And RVP seemed to be trying too hard to break Shearer's record that he was not in his usual calm.
Sadly, 2 pts lost and probably a Champions League place next year.
Younas Khan: Get a ball and go outside then.
full marks to the referee what a poor game he had, wolves deserved the draw, and first class performance by hennesey well done wolves
I want to PLAY FOOTBALL
comment no2. thinking like that too.....but it depends on the men in black......remember when spurs vs chelsea....
RVP was too ball greedy last night, a bit too over confident and should have passed on some of the occasions when he missed chances. Brilliant player though.
Hennessy. HE got the points for Wolves last night. Arsenal played very well, Wolves knuckled down and provided tough opposition, but Hennessy was untouchable last night. It happens a few times in every season where a lower teams keeper just has a blinder and no one can get past them. Al Habsi has done it a good few times, Krul proved his skills in amazing performances earlier in the season, it was just one of those nights, shame it had to happen to us. but well done Hennessy. Deserved something from the game with that performance.
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