Arsene Wenger: 'The result does not reflect the game but we have to look at ourselves'

Published: 22 November, 2015
by STEVE BARNETT

Premier League
WEST BROM 2, ARSENAL 1

ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has called on his players to “look at themselves" after their disappointing defeat at West Bromwich Albion. 

The Gunners lost 2-1 at the Hawthorns, despite taking the lead through Olivier Giroud and dominating possession. 

James Morrison volleyed past Petr Cech to level the scores before Mikel Arteta diverted James McClean's cross into his own net. Arsenal's miserable afternoon was compounded when Santi Cazorla missed a late penalty. 

With a crucial Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, Wenger says his side must examine what went wrong and quickly learn from their mistakes. 

“The result does not reflect the game but we have to look at ourselves,” said the Frenchman. “I think at 1-0 up we became a little too easy and the equaliser they scored sums it up well, they didn’t even need to have the ball. 

“That is where we have to be mature. In the second half we gave absolutely everything. We were unlucky and it was a bad day because we scored an own goal, missed a penalty and didn’t deserve to lose this game. 

“We have to look at ourselves and think, why did it happen to us? I believe we lost a fraction of focus when we were 1-0 up. It is frustrating, it is disappointing and what you want is to learn from a game you didn't deserve to lose. 

“We had 72 per cent possession and, if you lose it, you have to look at yourself and think, what happened to us.” 

Wenger's squad will be down to its bare bones on Tuesday after Coquelin and Arteta both limped off at the Hawthorns with respective knee and calf injuries. Mathieu Flamini is likely to start in midfield, and the Frenchman was already looking ahead to the must-win Champions League encounter against Dinamo Zagreb.

"We had some great opportunities against West Brom, but of course it is disappointing because we didn’t get any points," he said. “Sometimes it happens and now it is important to recover and focus on the next game on Tuesday.” 

ARSENAL: Cech, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin (Arteta, 14), Arteta (Flamini, 49), Cazorla, Sanchez, Ozil, Gibbs (Campbell, 63), Giroud. 
Substitutes not used: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Reine Adelaide 
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