The Sun (Malaysia)

Wenger soothed by Gunners’ simplicity

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ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger said his side know exactly what they must do in the Champions League qualificat­ion race after watching them gain a 1-0 win over Leicester City.

With time slipping away at the Emirates Stadium yesterday, Wenger threw on Danny Welbeck and Olivier Giroud to finish with four strikers on the pitch.

His side eventually prevailed courtesy of a late own goal by Robert Huth.

Arsenal remain outside the Champions League places, but Wenger said: “We have one advantage – the advantage of clarity.

“We have to win our games, so that’s why we cannot be happy with a 0-0.

“We absolutely have to take a gamble to try and win the game at any cost. We took the initiative tonight.”

With only 72 hours to recover from Sunday’s gruelling FA Cup semifinal extratime victory over Manchester City, Wenger praised the resilience of his players.

“We lacked penetratio­n and a change of pace,” he told reporters.

“You could see that we had some heavy legs and we lacked a bit of speed in our game to get Leicester out of position.

“They defend well, but in the end I think the win rewards the team which took the initiative during the game.

“Let’s not forget as well that we played on Sunday afternoon. Leicester didn’t play at all over the weekend, so we knew we had a little handicap on that front.”

Wenger promised Arsenal will approach Sunday’s north London derby at Tottenham Hotspur purely as another step towards Champions League qualificat­ion, not a chance to halt their rivals’ title charge.

“We play for us,” said the Frenchman, whose future at Arsenal remains up in the air. In life you work for your own achievemen­ts, not for those of others.”

Wenger played down a touchline incident between Alexis Sanchez and Christian Fuchs that occurred shortly after Nacho Monreal’s wayward 85th-minute shot had deflected in off Huth for the decisive goal.

Sanchez twice prevented Fuchs from taking a long throw-in by standing too close to the touchline.

Infuriated, Leicester’s Austria internatio­nal threw the ball into Sanchez’s shoulder, only for the Chilean to fall to the ground clutching his face.

Wenger said: “I think Alexis didn’t know that he had to be further away. As well, the referee didn’t tell him that he had to move away so he thought he was in the right position.

“He got the yellow card because he didn’t respect the rules. I accept that.

“But on top of that, Fuchs was lucky not to get a yellow card because he threw the ball at him on purpose.”

 ??  ?? Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger helps Alexis Sanchez to his feet after the Chilean was hit by the ball following a throw-in by Leicester City’s Christian Fuchs during yesterday’s English Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. –
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger helps Alexis Sanchez to his feet after the Chilean was hit by the ball following a throw-in by Leicester City’s Christian Fuchs during yesterday’s English Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. –

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