Arsene Wenger: 'If you want to find players of the calibre of Mikel Arteta in January, I wish you good luck'

Published: 13 January, 2013
by TOM FOOT at the Emirates

Premier League
ARSENAL 0, MANCHESTER CITY 2

ARSENE Wenger admitted he is struggling to bring in top-quality players to boost his "nervous" side in the January window.

After a chastening 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City, the Arsenal boss told reporters: "We are in the market, of course. We have select targets. But if you want to find players of the calibre of Mikel Arteta in January, I wish you good luck."

Arteta was out of the squad after picking up a calf strain before the match and will be out for three weeks at least, the manager said.

City fans had baulked at the £62 ticket price, but it was the Arsenal faithful left feeling distinctly out of pocket at full-time.

After 32 minutes – or £22.04 on the Arsenal price-o-meter – the Gunners were two goals and a man down.

Champions City resisted their chance to dispense a drubbing, choosing instead to sit back in total control. Arsenal's aimless attacks – the few that there were – were thwarted like sparrows flying into closed window.

Frustrations grew and grew, with yellow-booted referee Mike Dean taking the flack. He dispensed two red cards, five yellows and countless fouls in a relatively mild-mannered match.

He left the pitch to, "you don't know what you're doing". But the Gunners only had themselves to blame.

Laurent Koscielny's game ended after grappling Edin Dzeko with both hands inside the box on 7 minutes.

There were few complaints over the penalty decision, but the dismissal seemed harsh for a foul on a striker who did not have the ball under complete control.

Wojciech Szcezny blocked Dzeko's penalty with his legs, the ball rebounding off the upright and dribbling back down the line into his grateful arms.

There were cheers and hugs but the save was merely a stay of execution.

A few minutes later, with the 10 men of Arsenal squabbling over a free-kick, Gareth Barry raced on to a Carlos Tevez pass and lashed the ball into the opposite corner. It was a powerful finish – first time and on the turn – and a sense of foreboding flooded the stadium.

There were hints of offside for the second, as Dzeko tucked into an empty net on 32 minutes. A cross from Barry had been deflected on to him from by Tevez.

The gap between these two sides was emphasised by the substitution of Aaron Ramsey, on for the "new signing" About Diaby, back in the starting line-up after four months – hardly impact players, and Arsenal were in need of something special.

Theo Walcott used to be just that as a super-sub, but he starts up front now and looked exhausted by the time Dean squared the contest with a red card for Vincent Kompany on 74 minutes. It looked like a fairly-won tackle, and Roberto Mancini said it was not even a foul.

Throughout the match, Walcott appeared to be concentrating on standing between two central defenders and waiting for a pass to split them.

At times, he seemed to be thinking about that very, very hard – and seemed almost surprised when the ball did not come to him. His only shot beat keeper Joe Hart on 90 minutes, only to be saved off the line by Joleon Lescott. But then we are led to believe that the £90,000-a-week professional footballer is still "learning his trade".

Wenger added: "We started without enough confidence and not enough authority. When you play at home you need personality. We were too nervous in the way we started game. The fact we need to be more confident in this time of game."