Wenger - follows Rafa's approach

[Rory Fitzgerald]

SOURCE: The Mirror

 

ARSENE WENGER last night admitted it is his fault that Arsenal have nothing left to play for this season following their Champions League exit to PSV.

 

The Frenchman has also vowed never to field his senior players in the Carling Cup again following the fixture congestion that cost him so many key players.

 

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor were both given three-match bans after being sent off in the 2-1 Carling Cup Final defeat to Chelsea. That meant they were unavailable for the FA Cup fifth round defeat to Blackburn.

 

Itlanded Wenger with a major headache because Thierry Henry was already injured along with Robin van Persie.

 

The Gunners boss believes he is to blame by not prioritizing to give the club the best chance of punching its weight in Europe and in the League.

 

He also admits he should have played his kids in the FA Cup to save his top men for the competitions in which Arsenal had a better chance. He said: "We should have sacrificed the FA Cup this season. It is a competition we love but last year, when we went out early, we reached the final of the Champions League.

 

"So this year, once we knew we were in the final of the Carling Cup, we should have completely sacrificed the Carling Cup because in the end it caught up with us. We had two replays in the FA Cup, one just before the PSV tie and one right in between it.

 

"We had already given a lot, playing 17 games in December and January. Also, we had no possibility to rotate the side because we had many injuries and then all the suspensions.

 

"So I think it was a mistake on my part. When we drew Blackburn at home we didn't think we would go to a replay.

 

"When you have 60,000 fans in your own stadium you can never say you will sacrifice the game. But the replay? Perhaps I should have sacrificed it."

 

Speaking to the official Arsenal magazine, he added: "In future I will not play senior players in the Carling Cup. But I will not say the same for the FA Cup.

 

"I think in future our priority should be to qualify from the Champions League group - then take it from there.

 

"I also feel that we will not be in the same position in future seasons where we have two strikers injured and another suspended. That gave us no possibility to rotate.

 

"This is the first time in my time here that we do not have anything to look forward to.

 

"We have had years where we didn't win trophies, but we have always had a cup final or a title race to come."

 

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Does this make you look at the 6-3 Carling Cup defeat differently in the sense that Rafa was right to use players like Paletta, Peltier etc and save the senior players ?

[Guest jjasonuk]

Good point mate, I didn't feel like that at the time like but maybe I will in Athens!

[Cobs]

i thought the team Rafa sent out in the Carling Cup game was more than good enough to win the tie

[Huyton_Red]

i thought the team Rafa sent out in the Carling Cup game was more than good enough to win the tie

 

No it wasnt because Dudek was in goal and committed numerous f'ck ups, three days after commiting a couple of other f'ck ups that got us knocked out of the FA cup

 

Another keeper = completely different couple of results = FACT

[Rory Fitzgerald]

i thought the team Rafa sent out in the Carling Cup game was more than good enough to win the tie

 

Yeah, but the media peddled it for all it was worth. The thinking was that as Arsenal knocked us out of the FA Cup days before hand and we had Barca in the Champions League - our season was over after getting tonked by Arsenal's kids so the thinking was that we should have put out the big hitters and knocked them for 6 (pardon the pun)

 

Anyway, Rafa's logic was that of his fellow manager, only he realised it when it was not too late.

[honourablegeorge]

Funny how Rafa got more stick for being knocked out of two cups than Wenger did for being knocked out of three.

[Rimbeux]

Funny how Rafa got more stick for being knocked out of two cups than Wenger did for being knocked out of three.

 

 

I'm not sure that's true, Wenger took plenty, especially from their own, and is still reeling from it as these comments show. Rafa got a bad few days

[Koller49]

Doesn't really make sense though does it.

 

When we won the European Cup we got to the final of the Carling Cup aswell, using some "senior" players, especially in the final.

 

Chelsea won the Carling Cup and are still in the European Cup, FA Cup and are jus about still in the title race.

 

The Mancs are still in two cups and are running away with the league.

 

Think Arsene is just looking for excuses to be honest. Teams nowadays have big enough squads to play in all competitions in my opinion. As Chelsea and the Mancs are proving.

[Benitez]

Doesn't really make sense though does it.

 

When we won the European Cup we got to the final of the Carling Cup aswell, using some "senior" players, especially in the final.

 

Chelsea won the Carling Cup and are still in the European Cup, FA Cup and are jus about still in the title race.

 

The Mancs are still in two cups and are running away with the league.

 

Think Arsene is just looking for excuses to be honest. Teams nowadays have big enough squads to play in all competitions in my opinion. As Chelsea and the Mancs are proving.

 

 

I agree, he's using it as an excuse. Cos at the end of the day, they used plenty of squad players in the league cup anyway. So why he's 'vowing not to field senior players ever again', I don't know. He's just full of chit.

 

But, as for chelsea - they arne't comparable tbh, they have the back-up to put strong teams out all the time, more so than most other clubs.

[Leo No.8]

Wenger has an excuse for everything, this is just the latest in a long line which don't cut it for anyone with half a brain. Tiredness is every manager's 'get out of jail free' card these days, he can't face the fact that his team and he make mistakes.

 

Arsenal lost to PSV not because of the cup replay or tiredness, but because they failed again and again to stick the ball in the net when they made chances at the Emirates and played crap in Holland. You could say Hleb was more to blame than tiredness for giving away an idiotic free-kick near the corner flag when they were in control of the second leg.

 

Just the usual crap from Wenger, he's like a big kid.

Edited March 29, 2007 by Leo No.8

[Skillz]

He has a point. He admits he stuffed up. Compare their year with ours 2 seasons ago and if he managed it better he "might" of won the CL this year.

 

It is similar to our except our manager recognised the dangers early and focused on what mattered most.

 

CL>FA cup

 

Then he delivered it. Thanks Rafa.

[surfaris]

but he will stay perfecting his so called romanticsm passing game.

"we wont do long pass/ pressure footy like some spaniard" - wenger in toilet room interview.

 

feck longball&longpass - he added

[Benitez]

but he will stay perfecting his so called romanticsm passing game.

"we wont do long pass/ pressure footy like some spaniard" - wenger in toilet room interview.

 

feck longball&longpass - he added

 

 

and then he mutters, 'but we'll do it one year in Big Cup, get to the final, continue to do it in the final, lose the final, then feck it off for another 10 years of European underachievment'

 

And then he wanders out of the toilet and off to kidnapp more 16 year old Spaniards.