Arsene Wenger spoke about Arsenal's 'small chance' to qualify from UCL group stage
Olympiakos heaped the misery on Arsenal, after they were given a 5-1 spanking by Bayern Munich, by coming from behind to win against Dinamo Zagreb. It made the Gunners’ chance for qualification all the more tougher, but Arsene Wenger believes that their ‘small chance’ to qualify is a very ‘real one’, the BBC reported.
3 defeats in 4 games in the Champions League sees Arsenal at the bottom of their group. They now need 2 wins from games against Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiakos while hoping that the Greek team lose against Bayern Munich. Although, few would say the Bavarians will not win that game, Arsenal’s own fixtures might prove to be tricky especially given that they’ve already lost to both those sides.
After Arsenal’s record-equalling loss to Bayern, Wenger spoke about his side’s chances of securing qualification. Le Professeur said: “There is still a chance to qualify, we have to realise that our chance is at a minimum.”
"It leaves us short. It will be very tight but we have to fight until the end. Let's hope Bayern beat Olympiakos and we win at home against Zagreb. That leaves us with a chance to qualify from the last game.
"It's a small chance but there is still a real one."
Wenger calls Arsenal’s performance ‘extremely poor’
The Gunners’ boss felt his side were spectators against a rampant side that Pep Guardiola put on the pitch at the Allianz Arena. The play disappointed the Frenchman and he never saw his side gel as a unit despite having scored after Bayern were already 4 goals up.
He said: “Defensively we were extremely poor. We never looked like a team that could play like a unit. The crazy thing is we looked like we could create chances but overall we had a disappointing performance. There was no pressing, no concentration, no challenges. We watched them play. They are a good side and we paid for it.”
The London side will have to shake off the loss quickly as they head into this weekend to face their bitter city rivals Tottenham at the Emirates. It may be a challenge that comes at the wrong time for Wenger’s side, although they’re doing well in the league at the moment.
Players missing for derby
One of the biggest misses for Arsenal against Bayern must have been Hector Bellerin, whose blistering pace was crucial in their win at the Emirates against the same opposition just weeks ago. But the Spanish right back who did not feature in the second tie between the two is also likely to miss the London derby at the weekend.
Another blow in defense for them will be that Koscielny who also missed the tie at Allianz Arena may not return in time as well. As the injury list continues to grow, the boss said: “I don't think Bellerin will be available, or Koscielny, we will have to see on Friday or Saturday.”