Wenger bleating in defeat
COLOGNE have a goat for a mascot and two players named Horn so it was apt that they ram-raided Arsenal into a state of mild embarrassment last night.
But quite how they pulled it off is anyone’s guess. This was a performance that was so unambitious, it was something of a shock to see Sehrou Guirassy go for goal when he won a soft penalty on 62 minutes. Yet shoot he did and with that strike Arsenal’s unbeaten run in this competition came to an end.
They still progress as Group H winners, which is impressive enough when you consider the fringe men, academy boys and recovering souls that have made up Arsene Wenger’s sides in this competition. But there will be an acute sense of disappointment that they were quite so helpless here in the face of Cologne’s approach, which was to defend for their lives while spying for scraps that might justify crossing the halfway line.
The home side had four shots in all and just 33 per cent of the possession.
Yet somehow that was enough to beat Arsenal, who surged forward at every opportunity but found only lead in their boots and static in their brains.
It looks all the worse when you consider Cologne have taken only two points from 12 Bundesliga games this season.
So beyond the positive aspects of Jack Wilshere’s latest European performance, and the continued promise of Ainsley Maitland- Niles and Reiss Nelson, there was woefully little that could be termed encouraging.
Even Wenger was stumped in trying to add gloss to the result, saying: ‘We had a lot of possession and we lose a game where Cologne had one shot on goal. And it was not a penalty at all.
‘We just missed a little bit in the final third, we missed always a little something to finish our chances.’
There was at least a return from injury for Danny Welbeck as one of 11 changes to the side that beat Tottenham at the weekend, but even that only lasted 45 minutes, during which the striker was largely ineffective.
Wenger said: ‘It was planned before the game that he would play 45 minutes.
‘Medically the risk was a bit too high to play him for longer because he’s been out for a while. He was frustrated to come off, but he’s in a good shape.’
On winning the group, Wenger was only marginally more enthusiastic.
‘I will tell you how it feels after the draw for the knockout rounds,’ he said.
‘You feel you have done the job if you finish the group top. What does it really mean? I don’t know. But it’s what we wanted.’
The penalty decision looked harsh, given it was an easy tumble from Guirassy after a gentle tussle with Mathieu Debuchy, but the call was made and the Cologne striker easily beat David Ospina by putting his kick down the middle.
It was only the second home game in which Cologne have led this season.
A set of horns to the backside for Arsenal. COLOGNE (3-4-3): T HORN 7.5; Sorensen 7, Maroh 6 (Rausch 38min, 6), Mere 7; Klunter 6.5, Ozcan 6.5, Jojic 7, J Horn 6.5; Cordoba 5.5 (Olkowski 56), Osako 4.5 (Lehmann 73, 6), Guirassy 6.5.
Subs not used: Kessler, Risa, Nartey, Bisseck. Scorer: Guirassy pen 62. Booked: Klunter, Guirassy. Manager: Peter Stoger 7. ARSENAL (3-4-2-1): Ospina 6.5; Debuchy 7 (Nketiah 84), Mertesacker 7, Holding 6.5; Chambers 6 (Nelson 67, 6.5), Coquelin 6, Elneny 6.5, Maitland-Niles 7; Welbeck 6 (Iwobi 46, 6), Wilshere 7; Giroud 5.5. Subs not used: Macey, Akpom, Sheaf, Willock. Booked: Debuchy. Manager: Arsene Wenger 6. Referee: V Bezborodov (Rus) 6. Attendance: 45,300.