Arsene Wenger

Published: 13 February, 2014
by PAUL COWLING at the Emirates

Premier League
ARSENAL 0, MANCHESTER UNITED 0

GUNNERS boss Arsene Wenger admitted his team played “handbrake football” last night (Wednesday) after they were held to a frustrating draw against Manchester United.

The home crowd arrived at the Emirates Stadium expecting to see their side explode into life and make amends for Saturday’s dismal 5-1 thrashing at Liverpool.

But instead it proved a cagey and somewhat subdued night in north London as Arsenal played out a grim goalless draw, missing out on the chance to return to the top of the Premier League.

“When you are hit like we were against Liverpool it is natural for the players to be nervous,” said Wenger.

“They are human beings. They didn’t want to lose against Man United.

“Our team was focused on not wanting to concede, which restricted our game.

“The only positive is, despite two bad results, we are still in a strong position in the league.”

Chances were few are far between, with both sides making it clear that not losing the game was far more important than not winning it.

Former Arsenal striker Robin van Persie came closest for the visitors but his early effort was saved by Wojciech Szczesny, who denied the Dutchman again late on when he clawed his header onto the bar.

David de Gea was equally as impressive when called upon in the United goal, twice denying Santi Cazorla. Laurent Koscielny also saw his header cleared off the line by Antonio Valencia.

With Liverpool next in the FA Cup, and a clash against Bayern Munich in the Champions League next Wednesday, Arsenal desperately need to rediscover their creative flair.

But with Theo Walcott out for the season, and Aaron Ramsey still at least a month away from action, Wenger admitted his side were lacking a cutting edge at the most crucial stage of the season.

He said: “Yes, we are short of goals at the moment. But that can happen during the course of a season.”

Meanwhile, Tottenham ensured that Arsenal will be worryingly looking over their shoulders after they cruised to a 4-0 victory away at Newcastle.

Former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor opened the scoring on 19 minutes when he tapped home from six yards after Tim Krul failed to deal with Nabil Bentaleb’s cross.

Krul should probably have done better with Tottenham’s second goal, too, as he failed to hold Adebayor’s shot, allowing Paulinho to score from close range.
Adebayor grabbed his second on 82 minutes, before Nacer Chadli came off the bench to score the goal of the game, curling the ball home from the edge of the area.