Wenger: My Players Gave “Absolutely Everything” Against Everton
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger paid tribute to both sets of players for their part in his side’s 1-1 draw with Everton yesterday. Labelling the game as a “quality game” between two positive teams, Wenger admitted that he was disappointed with his side’s inability to hold on for the three points having gone ahead through Mesut Ozil’s 80th minute strike, but was pleased with the attitude of his players over the course of the game.
“It was a quality game,” said Wenger, “with two teams that tried to play in a very positive way, and it was an enjoyable game.”
On his opponents Wenger continued; “They played very well. They started better, it took us time to get into the game, but on top of that I must say that Howard made three excellent one-against-one saves. The regret that I have is that from 1-0 up we couldn’t keep the clean sheet and that we were caught a bit on the flanks.”
Talking about his own side, the Frenchman said: “This team has a fantastic attitude. They give absolutely everything. We know that we have quality and at least we took a point today so that was encouraging. There’s always room for improvement. Of course 3 points would have been much better today, but the attitude and quality of the players was there and that is a good basis for improvement.”
On the triple change that saw Mathieu Flamini, Tomas Rosicky and Theo Walcottintroduced in the 67th minute, Wenger said that he sensed an opportunity to use the strength in depth that he possesses in midfield areas.
“I sensed that we needed something different and some fresh legs. We were open in the middle of the park and not going enough behind. I had quality on the bench and for me it was the right moment to use it and to take a bit of a gamble. It nearly paid off, the players who came on all did well – Rosicky and Walcott were involved in the goal and Mathieu worked very hard when he came on.”
The Gunners almost snatched all three points at the death, as Olivier Giroud’s 93rdminute thunderbolt rattled off of the upright, although Wenger pointed to an earlier chance as the key opportunity to seal the points:
“I thought [Giroud’s] was bit high at the start, but of course it was an excellent shot and Howard would have been away from it. But I think we had a better chance with Flamini just before that where 2-1 was possible.”