THE SAN HEROES

Wenger’s men gain redemption as they get up off the canvas to deliver a perfect KO blow in Milan

UNDER-PRESSURE Arsene Wenger came out fighting after Arsenal’s stunning Europa League win over AC Milan.

Crucial away goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Aaron Ramsey made the Gunners red-hot favourites for the quarter-finals. Wenger said: “It’s like a boxing match when you are half knocked down and you have to face another opponent before you get up again.” The Frenchman has been fighting to save his job after his side were outclassed twice by

Manchester City then lost at Brighton. But Wenger insisted that games in quick succession had left Arsenal with no time to recover from those reverses.

He added: “In England we have a strange system. We have a League Cup final in the middle of a season. We played on Sunday and against the same opponents on Thursday. It’s difficult to recover from a defeat in a cup final when you put so much effort in. So you are always in danger.

“We had no breather. So we were backsto-the-wall tonight and we had to respond.”

Wenger was proud that his players refused to buckle in the face of Milan’s 13-match unbeaten record under Gennaro Gattuso (above). He said: “That’s what you want to show, that we have the mental resources and qualities.”